Drifting Paths
by Mia Vaan
Summary: AU. When Roxanne moved back to her hometown, Metro City, she expected to find home and become a respectable reporter. She never expected to catch the attention of the city's resident supervillain, leading to events and feelings she never thought possible.
1. Chapter One: Returning to Metro City

Oh god, not another new one.

I know, I really should work on the others first, but my writing muse says otherwise. And since my muse controls what I write, I don't really have a say in it. So yeah, sorry about that.

This is a story I've been planning for some time. It's an AU, and is a response to a post over at the forum on fanfic; the idea of Megamind becoming Roxanne's secret admirer instead of kidnapper (as much as I love the kidnappings; but don't worry, there will be one or two in this). It contains a few of my OCs who you may recognize, and there's a few changes from my other fics. Basically Roxanne moved away from Metro City when she was ten, meaning she never went to high school with Megs and Mets. And Roxanne's mother is nicer in this story than she is in _Knocked Up_ and _Heroes_. Hopefully things will become clearer as the story goes on.

Disclaimer: Don't own Megamind. I also don't own the prequel comic, which very loosely inspired the battle sequence in this chapter (I'm sure most of you will be able to spot where).

I hope you guys like the story.

* * *

The last box in her arms, a greatly tired Roxanne Ritchi walked into her new apartment and placed said box down on the floor, heaving a heavy sigh and clapping her hands together as if she were dusting them off.

Across the room which she was planning on making her living room, Roxanne noticed her mother hovering around the removal men who were carrying an old cabinet between them. "Careful, that was my grandmother's," Rhonda Ritchi was saying. The men eased it down without a fuss, and the older woman sighed gratefully.

"That's the last of it," the first man announced. His partner dusted off his hands in a similar manner to what Roxanne had done moments before.

"Finally." It was obviously clear Rhonda was relieved.

After payments were made and the men were gone, Roxanne and her mother began unpacking the many boxes which contained the twenty-two year old's many belongings. Plates, cutlery, books, ornaments, pictures... All which reminded Rhonda of the sad but happy memories of her time in Metro City. The same city she and her daughter had once occupied along with her husband.

The husband who had died suddenly when Roxanne was only ten.

"Are you sure the memories won't be too much for you?" the worried woman in her fifties asked. She held the photograph of her once family of three, riding their bikes in the park. A sad smile crossed her face; it had been taken only a week before her husband's death.

Roxanne gently took the picture from her mother's grasp and placed it on one of the shelves in the new living room. "It's fine, Mum," she assured. "The memories I have of this city are few and far between, which I've treasured with my heart. I thought we had this discussion."

"I know, I know." Rhonda raised her hands in defence. "Just because I've stayed clear of the city doesn't mean you should, too."

"You've already kept me away far too long." Roxanne opened another box and found her DVD collection, which she proceeded to stack neatly in the rack she'd recently brought for the move.

The moment she began Rhonda noticed that it wasn't fixed right. "Roxie, careful, it's not-" Before she could say anything more the entire rack collapsed, sending both it and a few DVDs to the floor. Roxanne, who had been about to add another, reared back in surprise. "-fixed properly," Rhonda finished. A sigh escaped the older woman's mouth. "I did warn you about buying it cheap."

Huffing – and muttering to her mother that she hated being called 'Roxie' – Roxanne bent down to pick the DVDs off the floor. She blew a bang from her eyes, which only added to the stress of the situation; the pixie haircut had looked so nice on the models in her weekly magazine, but she was finding the style a little annoying every time that same bang swept into her vision. It fell across her eyes again, and for a second time Roxanne blew it away. For a few moments it stayed in place...until it was there, right in front of her eyes _again_. Roxanne tried her hardest not to grunt out of irritation; her mother had reminded her many times it was unladylike.

Said mother decided to leave her daughter to it and instead, crossed the room to the window. "Nice view of the park." She didn't know which emotion to settle with, since that same park held so many pleasant memories – which at the same time, brought back painful memories, too.

"Yeah." Roxanne finally picked up the broken DVD rack and binned it; what a waste of $5. "It felt right moving so close. More...homey."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Not this 'finding home' stuff again."

"It's only the truth," her daughter protested. "Lansing never felt like home to me, and I promised myself that when I finished college, I would find that one place where I felt at home. And I figured, why not go to the place I _used_ to call home? It's a start, at least."

"And what if you don't find home?"

The younger woman only shrugged. "I guess I'll have to keep looking." She knew, ever since her father had died, and she and her mother had moved to Lansing, there had been an empty space deep within her. The feeling of home; the feeling that told her she belonged, and that wherever she was, she was happy. It was missing, and had been missing for years. Even when she took a major in journalism the feeling was absent.

She only hoped that moving back to her home town would fill this emptiness.

A knock at the door prevented the conversation from extending further, and abandoning her boxes Roxanne went to answer it. After glancing through the peep hole a smile lifted the brunette's face, and when she opened the door she was tackled backwards in a lung-crushing hug.

"Roxie! I can't believe you're here! You look so different," her childhood friend Tianna Whitmire greeted.

"I told you; photos never lie. And it's _Roxanne_." She shut the door once her dark skinned friend was inside.

"If you say so." Tianna placed her bag down and allowed her gaze to travel around the apartment. "Wow, this is _so_ much better than my place." Only then did she notice the older woman standing out of the way. "Oh, hi Mrs. Ritchi. I didn't see you there."

"That's OK, Tianna."

The guest sat herself down on the couch and Roxanne took a seat next to her. "So, how's Terry doing?"

"Fine," the other woman replied. "Or as fine as any doctor in training with a wife and daughter is doing." Roxanne tried to hold back her laughter. It wasn't funny, really. Just the result of a condom not doing what it was supposed to do; and since the part time jobs the pair had wouldn't be enough to support them, things really had taken a turn for the worse. The funny part was the couple moving in with the twins' parents, since the other's didn't want to get involved _at all_.

"Poor Shelley," Roxanne mused, feeling sorry for the young woman. Having parents who were racists was hard to deal with.

Another knock came at the door, and after exchanging a confused glance with her mother Roxanne stood up to answer it. Through the peep hole she saw two youngsters of about sixteen. The first was a girl, with blonde hair and brown eyes, dressed in what looked more like boys clothing rather than girls; she also held some flowers in her hands rather lazily. The second was a boy, with dark brown hair and blue/grey eyes, along with glasses settled upon his face; his clothing was similar to the girl's, only a little neater.

Certain they weren't pranksters Roxanne opened up. "May I help you?"

"You've just moved in, right?" the girl asked. Roxanne nodded. "I'm Casey. My parents and I live down the hall. And this is my friend, Jace."

"Jason Andrews," the boy spoke up. "But I prefer Jace."

"My mum asked me to give you these, and to welcome you." She held out the flowers; yellow roses, which were a sign of friendship.

Roxanne accepted them with a smile. "Tell your mother thank you," she replied. "I must put these in a vase..."

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by loud music playing outside, and she almost dropped the flowers in shock. Her mother looked like she was about to have a heart attack while Tianna just shook her head out of annoyance. Casey and Jace only rolled their eyes.

"What on earth is all that racket?" Rhonda demanded. Roxanne recognized the song as _Crazy Train_, and her curiosity peaked she hurried over to the window. The others followed, arriving in time to witness several little bots soaring past the window towards where a number of loud bangs and crashes were heard. The citizens below were panicking; some where trying to get away while a few braver individuals were hurrying to see what was happening this time.

'This time', because it had happened countless times before.

"Do you know what kind of city you've moved to... I'm sorry, what was your name?" Casey asked.

"Roxanne." The young woman tried to see what was happening, but with many tall apartment blocks in the way her view was blocked. "This is one of the battles you've told me about, right?" she asked Tianna.

"Yep." Roxanne hadn't been scared in the slightest when her friend had informed her of the two aliens – one a hero while the other a villain – who used the city as their battlefield. The villain would cause mayhem, the hero would come; the villain would try and destroy the hero, fail miserably, and the hero would haul him back to prison. But then the villain would escape and the entire circle would start all over again.

Tianna described the battles as dangerous, and sometimes rather scary. After watching a few reports, though, Roxanne's opinion was different. She thought the battles looked well controlled, since even though the property damage was high, the level of injuries and deaths was nil. Unless one counted the villain, which no one really did. The woman's inner reporter was turned on by these two, and Roxanne could see one hell of an opportunity to get her career going. So far, none of the reports contained close ups; she planned to change that, and knew she would be the only one brave enough to do it. And why not start when they were only a few blocks away?

Casey apparently had the same thought. "This view sucks. C'mon, Jace." The two teens left the apartment and were soon sprinting down the hallway, and after taking a moment to snatch up her camera and keys Roxanne was following them.

"Roxanne!" her mother called. She'd been worried about her daughter moving to a city which, to her, was now rather dangerous. But she'd kept her worries repressed with the hope that Roxanne would stay away from the battles; this, though, wasn't staying away from them. When her daughter didn't answer her Rhonda quickly gave chase, muttering something along the lines of, "She's just like her father," leaving Tianna as the last one out; she slammed the apartment door shut behind her.

* * *

When Roxanne arrived on the scene the entire street was empty – apart from the rail-road tracks which had magically appeared, and following them along Roxanne soon became aware of a woman tied to them up ahead. She had bleach blonde hair which had obviously been dyed that colour, and she wore golden earrings to match her golden dress which Roxanne was certain _no one_ wore for casual wear.

The woman was screaming for help, and with a burst of adrenaline Roxanne ran a few steps towards her. But she skidded to a halt when the bots which had flown by her window earlier appeared in front of her, apparently growling with their bear-trap-like teeth clanking up and down and their red lights giving them a sinister look. Roxanne backed up, and when she was at a reasonable distance the bots assumed their positions.

"Psst!" Glancing sideways Roxanne noticed Casey and Jace hiding behind a dumpster; they signalled for her to get down, and she quickly hurried to crouch next to them. Hearing her mother and Tianna hurrying up the street Roxanne turned and gestured for them to do the same. The two women hurried behind a van which had been abandoned.

The rookie reporter turned her attentions back on the happenings, and in the distance she could make out what appeared to be a locomotive hurtling along the tracks towards the blonde woman. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. _How very cliché_. Averting her eyes skyward she caught sight of the two aliens themselves; the villain, Megamind – an obvious alien with blue skin and a large head – had a jet-pack strapped to him while the hero, Metro Man – a human looking alien who, according to fans, was a hunk to boot with a large build – was fighting off a numerous amount of bots. These bots were of different build to the ones she had encountered before; these were bulkier.

Megamind laughed as his nemesis struggled to break free. "It's a fruitless attempt, Metro _Mahn_! Your powers are no match for my _Brawnbots_! Surrender now, or that newsie down there becomes not road kill, but _train_ kill!"

"Metro Man, help!" the woman shrieked. Roxanne had to roll her eyes again; sure, she pitied the woman for being in that situation, but it was always best to keep calm and not scream like a banshee.

The villain dressed in black leather apparently thought the same thing. "And if you _are_ going to surrender, then hurry up about it! Her _obnoc-stious_ screaming is giving me a headache!"

_Obnoc-stious? Oh, right, obnoxious. _

"Hold on, Jo! I'm coming!" Metro Man called, his voice strained.

"Hold on? Hold on to what?" Megamind questioned. "The hope that your brawn will overcome my brains?"

"They've done so before, and if they've done it before, they can do it again!"

"Every bubble has to pop, and yours will pop today!"

"The bubble of justice can never be popped by the spikes of evil!"

"What the-?" Roxanne found herself asking. She snapped a picture of them, all the same.

"Witty banter," Casey explained, shaking her head. "There's been theories that they write and script and rehearse lines before every battle." Watching as the two aliens continued their battle of wits, Roxanne somehow wasn't surprised.

The train – which Roxanne realized wasn't even a real train, but something completely futuristic which only _looked_ like one – continued onwards, and Roxanne's worried blue eyes darted to where the blonde (Jo, was it?) was still tied, screeching and struggling against the ropes binding her to the tracks. When her eyes averted back to the train again...she noticed something wasn't right. The wheels were screeching against the metal tracks; the brakes had been turned on, and the train was gradually slowing down. But not fast enough to suggest that it was.

She then turned to look at the bots that were hovering around the woman...and again, Roxanne blinked. From what she could see, the bots were looking between the woman and the approaching train, edging closer and closer to her.

Almost as if they were preparing to pull her out the way should Metro Man not reach her in time.

Whether they would have done or not, it would never be known. Using his laser vision Metro Man blasted the Brawnbots away, sending Megamind with them, before he flew down and yanked the woman from the tracks. He pulled up a chunk of the track with her; this wasn't a pretty sight when the train derailed, tipping on its side and rolling down the street. Cars were crushed beneath it, lamp posts broken, and Tianna and Rhonda were forced to take cover in an alleyway to avoid the machine.

Roxanne watched closely as the the train finally came to a halt, and inside, she noticed someone had been driving it. Without a second thought she hurried up the street towards the train, her camera ready. Since she didn't really know what to expect she ducked into an alley, opposite the one where her mother and friend had taken cover, and remained still.

Her jaw dropped when the driver climbed out. It was a robot...but instead of a head, there was a fish bowl on top which naturally, contained a fish. Tianna had spoken of the villain's robotic henchman whom no one hardly ever saw, but this... this was the last thing Roxanne expected. It stunned her enough not to take a picture.

The fish appeared to be dizzy, his body stumbling from side to side with a hand held to his bowl. When he regained himself he looked up...and saw Roxanne. His eyes filled with surprise and he froze, uncertain what to do; a citizen had never seen him before, up close at least.

"Minion!" Megamind landed by his henchman's side, and Roxanne couldn't help but note the worried look in his emerald green eyes. "Minion, are you-?" He cut himself off when he noticed the woman standing off to the side. Blue eyes, short brown hair-

His eyes widened as he beheld her.

It only lasted for a few moments; the fish suddenly cried out and ducked, seconds before Megamind was grabbed by Metro Man. Within the blink of an eye he was gone, most likely to the Metro City prison to drop off the supervillain.

Roxanne stepped out of the alleyway and into the open, where many others were starting to gather. Already a news van had arrived and a few citizens were comforting a still shaken Jo.

Rhonda and Tianna were instantly by Roxanne's side. "Roxanne, are you all right?" the coloured woman asked.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" her mother demanded.

"I'm fine, and no, he didn't hurt me," Roxanne finally answered. Her thoughts were elsewhere; what she had witnessed just...didn't seem right. It only gave her further evidence that the battles were controlled.

She noticed the fish henchman slip away unnoticed, but decided not to say anything.

The trio were soon joined by Casey and Jace. "I don't think anyone other than Metro Man has ever gotten _that_ close to him before!" She gave Roxanne a friendly punch on the shoulder. "You rock."

Roxanne barely registered the gesture; her gaze was focussed on the blonde reporter and Metro Man, who had arrived back on the scene. The woman was fawning all over him, to which Metro Man seemed a little uncomfortable with.

Roxanne, for the nth time, rolled her eyes. _Bimbo_. It was times like this when she wondered how half the anchorwomen even _landed_ their jobs as respectable reporters.


	2. Chapter Two: First Day

Here's the second chapter. A big thanks to all those who have taken the time to read, review, fav and alert this story.

For those of you who are still waiting for an update for _True Beauty_ I'm not neglecting it! The next chapter is just taking a little longer than I thought.

I hope you enjoy.

* * *

_What's taking so long?_ Megamind tapped his foot impatiently. His chin was resting against the palm of his hand, supported by his elbow which rested on the arm of his chair. _How am I supposed to break out and perform evil deeds if my escape plan won't even arrive on time?_ He then scratched at his orange jumpsuit; _and why do the prison uniforms always have to be so itchy? _

The alien let out an exaggerated sigh. He felt like performing an emergency escape; where he would claim to need to use the bathroom, and when the guards escorted him, he'd overpower them and escape. But he didn't have the energy to run so decided against it.

Instead he allowed his thoughts to trail back to the last grand failure which had landed him back in prison. Megamind wondered why he even _bothered_ to kidnap that whiny blonde; sure, she screamed for him, but her screaming gave him a headache. The villain could recall a few occasions where he'd sped up his plots – sabotaging them himself – in order to get her off his hands. _Next time_, he decided, _it will only be Metro Man and I. And Minion, of course_.

The thoughts of the screaming reporter led him to remember the woman who _hadn't_ been screaming at all, despite standing only a few feet away from the aliens. Megamind hadn't been able to get a good look at her, but for the few moments which he had he'd felt..._something_. Which came as a surprise to him. Throughout his life on Earth he hadn't been attracted to any human women – or any human _men_, for that matter. In the end he just assumed it was impossible for him to be attracted to humans at all.

But that woman... He could have sworn his heart had beat a little faster, and although he refused to admit it aloud, he had been rather impressed by her courage. No citizen had ever been that close to one of his many battles with his rival.

Before his thoughts could go further Megamind pushed the woman from his thoughts. He was a villain, and as a villain he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by one woman. No matter how strikingly pretty she was.

When he heard footsteps approaching his cell the villain allowed himself to sigh in an exaggerated manner. _Well, it's about time!_

* * *

John Warden had dealt with many unruly prisoners in his time, but Megamind had really provided him with a challenge over the years. It hadn't taken long for him to conclude that no matter what he did – no matter how many high tech security systems he installed – the blue alien would always find a way to break out. But still, he tried to keep him in, and this had unconsciously trained him and the guards to be on high alert – therefore making it one of the most secure and safest prisons in the country. The man in his sixties didn't know what to expect next, but he was alert and ready to face down whatever the lad threw at him.

And the man was determined to rub this in his face as he approached the specially built security cell which had been designed specifically to keep the supervillain from escaping (not that it did its job very well). One of the guards was sat outside; he was supposed to be watching the monitors, but instead, John found him reading yesterday's newspaper.

"Read on your own time!" the older man snapped. He received the reaction he'd been hoping for; the guard snapped back to attention, dropping the newspaper and sitting himself up straight. The warden could only shake his head. "Open up!"

The guard pressed one of the buttons on the control panel in front of him; a small, circular window opened at head height in the door leading to the supervillain's cell, and John peered in to find...an empty chair. "Hey?"

"BOO!"

"Aagh!"

Megamind had suddenly appeared in front of him, pressing his cerulean blue face against the glass. When John leapt back in surprise the alien laughed, happily leaping into his seat, which began to spin from his sudden weight thrown onto it.

"Good morning, Warden!" he greeted a little too gleefully. The man outside the door flinched at the use of his second name (he preferred to be referred to as 'sir', or 'John' if someone was a close friend, which this lad was certainly _not_), but he had to admire the amount of positive energy the alien possessed. "Great news! I'm a changed man, and I'm ready to re-enter society as a solid citizen!"

John almost rolled his eyes at the false statement. Why did Megamind even bother? "You're a villain, and you'll always be a villain! You'll never change! ...And you'll never leave."

"You're fun." Briefly the villain wondered if he'd ever seen a genuine smile on the warden's face.

The older man held up a small white box wrapped in a golden ribbon. "You got a present in the mail."

"Is it a puppy?" But the warden ignored him as he took the lid off to reveal a watch inside, along with a note.

He couldn't help but smile. From the colours on the outside, he should have guessed. "From Metro Man. To count every second of your 45 life sentences." It would have been far more, he knew, but Metro Man didn't catch him every time. Not to mention the taxpayer's expense couldn't afford to put him on trial _every time_ he did something evil. The entire country would be in debt if they insisted upon doing that.

Getting a good look at the watch, John realized it could be another one of Megamind's tricks to break out again. There was probably some sort of laser inside it which could cut a hole in the wall. _Not this time_. "He certainly has nice taste. I think I'll _keep_ it."

Megamind's expression didn't falter. The older man was used to him hiding what he was thinking and feeling, so thought nothing of it. "Any chance you can give me the time?" the villain asked.

"Seven o'clock." A smug smile appeared on the warden's face as he added, "Which means you have a couple more thousand years to go." With that he turned to go.

An evil smirk appeared on the supervillain's face. "Oh, do I?" This was followed by an infamously evil laugh.

And it wasn't without reason. Megamind's plans may have ended with colossal failure, but that didn't mean he was stupid. Far from it. One trick he liked to take advantage of was using people's own intelligence against them. And John Warden had fallen for it. As he made his way past the many long rows of cells the watch beeped to life; a small antenna appeared, scanning in his being before saving it into the watch's data. Then a dial turned, followed by a flash of blue light, and within moments John Warden had been replaced with Megamind's image. The sudden change caught the watching prisoners' attention; they knew this meant another escape from the infamous supervillain.

Two guards – who had been playing poker with one of the prisoners – were especially shocked by the sight of Metro City's most wanted criminal out and about. Especially when he turned to them and snapped, "Get back to work! The city doesn't pay you to loaf." The prisoner who had been playing with them took the opportunity to slip the cash they'd been playing with into his pocket while the two guards leapt up.

"Freeze!"

"Whoa? Guys, what are you doing? It's m_eeeee_!" An electric shock shot through him, and it stunned him enough in order for the two guards to grab him and drag him back to the special cell. The bemused guard outside opened it, but didn't ask any questions as he hurried in after the other to. They placed the prisoner into his chair...

...but if they had been playing close attention, they would have noticed the _real_ Megamind hiding behind the same chair, waiting for the right moment. While the guards were momentarily distracted he leapt out and grabbed the watch; instantly the warden changed back to his usual self.

"No, you fools!" he sighed. "He's tricked us." _Again_.

Megamind was stood by the door, the watch strapped on his wrist. "You were right." He turned the dial, and instead of Megamind, the warden stood in his place. The only quality which didn't change was the vivid green eyes. "I'll always be the villain." With an evil laugh he shut the door on them and began to skip down the corridor.

Alarm bells sounded and guards ran past, but none of them paid mind to the "warden" as he made his escape. And when he arrived outside the gate a door opened in mid air, revealing a smiling Minion sat behind the wheel of the invisible car. Inside the song _Bad to the Bone_ blared out over the radio. "Well hello, good looking," he greeted. "Need a lift?"

"Certainly do, you fantastic fish, you!"

* * *

When Roxanne walked into the KMCP 8 headquarters, she hadn't been expecting much on her first day. A brief introduction from her new boss, her own desk and a first taste of her new job; it was only one in which she was sat at a desk all day, but she was doing what she loved and that was all that mattered. But what her day turned into was one she didn't see coming.

After she arrived the lady at the front desk had told her where to go in order to find Frank Fitzwilliam's office – her new boss. His assistant told her to take a seat outside, since he was in a private meeting.

"Did you not even pay attention to the news your channel was broadcasting two days ago? I almost _died_ out there, Frank!"

Roxanne wasn't sure whether or not it could be called _private_. She would have been able to hear it from the other end of the corridor.

"I mean, do you even _care_ that your star reporter almost _died?_ Probably not. All _you_ care about is getting a good scoop!"

"Of course I care about what happens to you," said the familiar voice of Frank Fitzwilliam. "Besides, Metro Man was there to save you. He always is."

"Oh, don't get me started about that _so called_ hero! I've been putting up with that evil blue freak kidnapping me for two years, trying to get that hero's attention, and he hasn't so much as asked me out on a date! Isn't that how it's supposed to go? The hero rescues the reporter from the villain, and they fall in love?"

"Not necessarily-"

"Obviously! Well, I'm not putting my life in danger any more! I hope you can find a new star reporter, because Jo Janson is out!" Suddenly the door opened, and out stormed the blonde Roxanne recognized from the battle two days before. She was fuming, almost tripping in her high heels as she made her way towards the elevator, turning a few heads as she did.

_Star reporter? I've never heard of her_, Roxanne thought while she raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure no one will miss _her_," she heard Frank's assistant comment. Her attention turned to Roxanne. "Mr. Fitzwilliam will see you now."

Roxanne nodded and stood up; she knocked on the still open door. "Hello?"

Frank was sat in his chair behind a large desk, head in his hand. He was a man in his fifties, although he didn't look it. Dark hair grew from his head and chin, and her wore a black business suit complete with a purple tie. He hadn't changed since she last saw him, which was over a decade ago. Back when her own father had worked alongside him as a reporter for KMCP 8.

The older man couldn't resist smiling when he spied the young woman. "Roxanne! Just the person who can cheer me up." He looked her up and down as she closed the door behind her and took a seat. "You've really grown since the last time I saw you."

"That was when I was ten. Of course I've grown," Roxanne laughed.

"How's your mother?"

"She's fine," the twenty-two year old replied. "She went back to Lansing yesterday. I think the memories were too much for her."

Frank nodded. He understood. "She loved your father very much. But she didn't realize just how much until he was gone."

Roxanne silently agreed. Her mother hadn't exactly been the best parent in the world; always putting her job before her daughter, while her father had been the opposite. This had changed when Rowan Ritchi was killed in a car accident.

She quickly decided to change the subject. "Rough day?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "Jo's just quit and I don't have a reporter to fill in her slots. There isn't anyone on hand..." But then an idea came to him. "Although, there _is_ someone who used to be the best reporter we ever had, and it just so happens that his daughter joined our station today."

Roxanne's eyes widened. "Wait a minute... do you mean to say...?" To say that she was speechless would have been an understatement. "But I've only just started-"

"Yet, you have an outstanding résumé, and..." He sat up straighter, turning a pen in between his fingers. "I also saw one of your exam tapes from college. And I'm sure the station would love to have another Ritchi on camera. Your father left quite a legacy."

Roxanne couldn't help but smile at those words. "Thank you so much, Frank. You don't know how much this means to me. When do I start?"

"This morning. We need you to report on Mayor Kingsley's tactics in order to stay in office." Within moments he was escorting her out his office hurriedly, handing her a few papers as he went. "Here's all you need to know. The broadcast will be at eight o'clock sharp; you don't need to say much, so don't worry. If all else fails just smile and look pretty. It worked for Jo." He then leaned in and whispered, "and she wasn't even that pretty."

Just as they passed Frank's assistant, Roxanne caught the eyes of a short – and regrettably overweight – ginger-headed man with a face full of freckles. Instantly the sandwich he'd been eating was in the bin and he was joining them as they continued walking. "Hey there, you new around here?" he asked in a flirtatious manner.

"Knock it off, Hal," Frank sighed. The last thing he wanted was for the young man to scare her off.

"Hey, since Jo's gone who will I be working with?" the red-head continued.

Frank sighed again. He knew Roxanne would hate him for this, but he didn't have any other cameramen on hand, and Hal _was_ the best at the station. "Hal, meet Roxanne. Roxanne, this is Hal Stewart. He'll be your...cameraman." He patted her shoulder. "Good luck." The older man walked back to his office.

"Wait, you're Roxanne? As in, Roxanne Ritchi? You're dad was awesome! I used to watch him on the news all the time!"

Roxanne cringed. Sure, she was grateful for this amazing opportunity...but she could have done without this guy.

* * *

The invisible car became visible as it pulled into the dark, cold building that Megamind called home. He leapt out and slammed the car door shut behind him; _it was good to be home_. "I tell you, Minion," he commented. "There's no place like Evil Lair."

"I kept it cold and damp, just for you, sir."

A curtain was lowered around the alien by three of his many Brainbots, while three more helped him change out of his prison uniform and into his black and blue leather suit which he loved. He gave a satisfied sigh when he stepped out. "How do I look, Minion? Do I look bad?"

"Disgustingly horrifying, sir."

"You always know what to say." The villain's face lit up when he was swarmed by several Brainbots, all barking happily. The sparks inside their blue domes showed just how excited they were to see him. "My babies! Did you miss your Daddy?" One tried to bite him, but Megamind pulled back in time. "No biting! We don't bite Daddy, do we?" He picked up a wrench which one of the bots had dropped. "Who wants the wrench? Go get the wrench!"

He threw it, and instantly all the bots took off after it. The fish chuckled at the sight. "They're always so happy to see you, sir. Almost like you've been gone for weeks."

"They don't need to worry," Megamind assured. The pair made their way through the Evil Lair, passing by Brainbots who were carrying out various jobs and chores. "With so much work to do in order to prepare my latest plan, I won't be going back to that place for at least a week." Then he realized what he'd just said. "I mean, I won't _ever_ be going back there, because my plan _will_ succeed! But, on the _teeny tiny_ chance that it _doesn't_...! At least a week."

"Of course, sir." Minion resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Now..." Megamind stretched his arms out with satisfaction; sitting in that cramped chair back at the prison always caused his muscles to ache. "I think I'll entertain myself with listening to that blonde bimbo ramble on about how much I was threatening her life." He sat himself down in front of the monitors and switched them on.

Instead of the news, on came the cooking channel.

"Minion!"

"What?" The fish tried to look as innocent as he could. "I have to do _something_ to pass the time while you're in jail."

"Then busy yourself with preparing for my next plans instead of watching bubble-brained Earth women make _broaw-nees_!"

"Noted, sir!"

When the fish was gone Megamind began flicking through the channels. A morning talk show, another news channel, some program about birds, another dumb conspiracy theory on the History channel, a squirrel on skis, a film about Dinosaurs attacking time-travellers, KMCP...

His green eyes widened and he dropped the remote.

Instead of an overly-dressed blonde, Megamind beheld a very familiar brunette with sparkling blue eyes reporting the news. Now that he could see her better – and could watch her for longer – the villain was able to take in her perfect skin tone and the little, almost invisible freckles scattered across her cheeks. Her body was a perfect shape. Everything about her was...perfect. _Lord above, she's pretty_.

"Isn't that the woman we saw?"

"GAH!" Megamind almost fell off his seat from the sudden shock. "Minion! Don't...do that."

"Sorry, sir." His autumn brown eyes gazed up at the screen again, watching the new reporter with interest. "But it is. She's the one who we saw after our last plan failed. She's certainly a lot better at reporting than Miss Janson."

Turning back to the screen, Megamind hadn't even noticed that while he'd been staring, he'd completely missed what the woman had been talking about. "Yes, she is. And if Jo's been fired, then it's about time. If she quit, then good riddance!"

"So does that mean we need to start kidnapping _her_?" Minion pointed at the woman on the screen.

"Er..." He didn't want to admit it, but the idea of kidnapping this perfectly pretty woman didn't sit right with him. "Actually, Minion, I was thinking of stopping the kidnapping part altogether. A screaming woman just gives me a headache; how do we know this woman won't be the same?"

"Well, she didn't appear to be scared of us before," Minion pointed out.

"Yes...well..." The genius didn't know what to say to that. "I still say we don't! She'll still be a distraction!" _Even if she doesn't scream_. "And we need to focus on one thing, and one thing only!"

"I know, I know. Destroying Metro Man." As if his master will ever change; it's always been the same goal since they were kids.

"Exactly! So get to work!" When Minion left Megamind turned his attention back to the screen, just in time to watch this new reporter signing off.

"_This is Roxanne Ritchi reporting live from outside City Hall._"

The villain continued to stare at the screen, even _after_ it had gone blank. "Roxanne..."


	3. Chapter Three: Metro Man vs Megamind

Sorry this took so long.

Notes about this chapter: The Destructasaur was mentioned in the Megamind short _The Buttom of Doom_. And the university in this chapter probably doesn't exist (if it does, I'll be surprised), so lets go with our imaginations, here.

Not really much else to say about this chapter, so...enjoy.

* * *

It wasn't that Megamind kept on thinking about her purposely. With a brain his size, it was impossible for his chain of thought to draw to a standstill. The blue genius could usually handle this – but because his chain of thought kept leading him towards _that woman_, the process became increasingly annoying.

Particularly when he was trying to focus on the final touches to his latest plan to destroy Metro Man. One minute he'd be concentrating on getting the connections right in his new creation, but then the next, he'd be thinking about how Roxanne's freckles complimented her face. _And Roxanne is such a pretty name... Wait! What am I thinking? Must drown out those thoughts!_

So he did so by solving complicated maths problems in his head. ...But this only lasted for a few minutes before he was drawn back to the brunette reporter.

Briefly the alien wondered if this was a sign, telling him to just kidnap her anyway, but he repressed those thoughts quickly when he remembered his last victim. Kidnapping Jo Janson had been such a brilliant idea at the time. But Megamind soon found out how much trouble it caused him; first he had to find her, knock her out and take her to the location of his plan; then throughout said plan, he had to make sure she remained unharmed (despite wanting to just get rid of her on a few occasions); and then finally, if on the off chance the plan failed early and he had to make an escape, he and Minion would have to knock her out _again_ and make sure she got home safely. It was just a waste of time. And the woman's hysterical screaming didn't help the situation at all.

No, it was far better without a kidnapping victim. Then he wouldn't have to worry about keeping her out of harm's way and instead, could focus on destroying Metro Man.

And he didn't want to admit it aloud, but the thought of Metro Man rescuing Roxanne made his stomach churn in an unsatisfying way.

The villain was thankful when Minion arrived; at least that would take his mind of the Ritchi woman. "Sir! I found more information on Miss Ritchi."

_Maybe not_. "Which is?" Megamind turned to look down upon his minion from where he stood on a high ladder, leaning against his latest creation.

"Her full name is Roxanne Regina Ritchi," Minion read from the papers in his hands, "she's twenty-two years old and a post-graduate from the Lansing University of Journalism. She's lived there for over a decade, but she's native to Metro City."

Megamind listened with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Interesting. Go on."

"She has no siblings, and she was born to Rowan Ray Ritchi and Rhonda Raquel Ritchi."

"No misuse of the letter 'R', then," Megamind commented sarcastically. But then a memory struck him at the back of his mind. "Wait, what was her father's name again?"

"Rowan Ray Ritchi," Minion replied. "And yes, he was the top reporter for KMCP when we were kids. Makes sense that his daughter followed in his footsteps." He chuckled.

The memories resurfaced for Megamind – and with them came respect for the male reporter. Out of every reporter in Metro City, Rowan had been the only one who didn't twist a certain paint bomb incident which had occurred during Megamind's school days. While others manipulated it into a story about an alien boy trying to kill his classmates, Rowan told it as it was; a harmless paint bomb which had been most likely let off as a result of bullying. What had followed was a full on investigation led by Rowan (and helped by John Warden, Megamind's unnamed legal guardian) which had led to the school being shut down and the teacher having her license removed.

His brain even brought forwards the memory of a little brown haired, blue eyed girl held in her father's arms during a Father's Day report. She had been enough to captivate a young Megamind for the few minutes which she was on camera. It had been Roxanne without a doubt; the alien wondered how he hadn't recognized her before. But it had been a long time ago, and the little girl had grown into a beautiful young woman.

_Beautiful? Stop thinking like that! Even if she is..._ Megamind shook his head. He couldn't let the woman distract him from his goal. It was another reason why he refused to kidnap her; what would it be like having her close enough to touch? _It would be nice to touch that smooth, pale skin... Stop it! _

"Sir?"

Megamind blinked, his brain coming back down to Earth. "Huh?"

"You sorta fazed out for a second there," the fish explained. There was a clear worried expression upon his face. "Are you OK?"

"Yes, of course!" his master replied quickly. "Why wouldn't I be? Today is the day we destroy Metro Man once and for all!" The wrench which had been clenched in his hand was tossed over his shoulder, and several waiting Brainbots chased after it. The genius slid down the ladder and made a perfect landing. "Is everything prepared, Minion?"

The fish nodded. "The Brainbots finished surveying the area of the battle a few minutes ago." Villain and minion walked over to the monitors which showed the plaza – which was located in the centre of the city. It mainly consisted of a large rectangular water fountain; at one end stood City Hall in all its glory, and located at the other end was an empty space which, from what Megamind had heard, would one day hold the Metro Man Museum. "Everyone's gone back to work now that lunch is over, so the area is clear."

"Yes, good." Due to his highly destructive plans, many people didn't realize that Megamind was one of the few villains who didn't like killing people unnecessarily. The only person he was determined to kill was Metro Man; killing innocent people would be, in his eyes, crossing the line. Even _thinking_ about the possibility made the alien shudder, and not because it would make a nasty clean-up afterwards (although he insisted this was the main reason). "Which means it's time to call out the goodie-two-shoes rich boy in tights!"

Laughing evilly, the pair left the monitors as they prepared to leave. But if they had stayed behind a little longer, they would have noticed a KMCP News van pull up alongside the empty space by the fountain.

* * *

Roxanne stood, microphone in hand, as she rehearsed the lines she'd memorized in her head. Next to the van Hal was getting set up so curiously, Roxanne turned to face the empty space that would one day become the Metro Man Museum. From the information Frank had given her plans were still in the works, and at best, it would most likely be eight years before the museum itself was completed. There were even rumours that Megamind would get his own section.

_Megamind..._ During the week since Roxanne had arrived, the villain still held her attention. Instead of swooning over the hero in white like every other woman, Roxanne wondered about his rival; who he was, when the rivalry started, and above all, why he chose to become a villain. _What I would give to land an interview with him_.

When Hal was finished he shut the van door shut, his camera on his shoulder. The young man opened his mouth to announce that he was ready, but his brown eyes widened when he turned and was met with the view of Roxanne's rear. He smirked. "Now _that's_ a view."

"Pardon?" Roxanne turned with a raised eyebrow.

The ginger's cheeks flushed in embarrassment at being caught, and he stammered to find an answer. "Um...the view of Metro Tower. It definitely represents our city's strength, right?"

"I guess..." the woman spoke. _Was he staring at my butt? The creep..._ But she let it slide and brushed a bang from her eyes.

"OK, camera's rolling, we're not live so you don't have to get it in one take. Ready, and-"

Suddenly loud rock music interrupted the duo, and Hal leapt about a foot in the air in shock while Roxanne whirled round to locate the source of the sound. She recognized the song as _Highway to Hell_, and it being a classic rock song, she knew who was playing it. But it was a matter of discovering where he was coming from, and what he was coming _in_.

It didn't take long before she spotted it; black smoke pouring out from behind City Hall. "Hal, roll the camera!" Even if it wasn't the report she was asked to shoot, it was still news. Hal aimed the camera across the fountain as Megamind's famous blimp appeared from behind the great hall, followed by a few Brainbots arriving on the scene. Roxanne and Hal ducked behind the news van so they wouldn't be seen.

A shadow blocked out the sun, and the pair averted their gazes upwards and gasped. Hundreds of Brainbots were carrying what looked to be a giant robotic Dinosaur. A T-Rex, Roxanne recognized it as. It was made out of metal with blue lightning bolts painted on the side, along with Megamind's symbol on its underbelly. The Brainbots placed the giant structure in front of City Hall, and the moment it touched ground, it sparked to life. The robot let out an ear-hammering roar, and Roxanne was forced to cover her ears.

Determined to get a better view, Roxanne sprinted from her hiding place and made for one of the buildings running alongside the plaza. "Roxaroo, wait! You can't go out there!" But the woman ignored him and pinned herself up against the wall of the nearby building. She turned to Hal and gestured for him to follow. The ginger hesitated, but wanted to look brave in front of her, so followed with his camera in hand and pinned himself alongside her. "Don't you think we're a little close?"

"We can't get a good scoop if we can't see what's going on," Roxanne informed.

"Point taken," Hal agreed reluctantly. "But Jo was never like this. Then again, she was always tied up and in his evil clutches. But if you get close he might grab you! He's evil; he'll hurt you without even thinking about it!"

"He'll have to catch me first," Roxanne admitted without fear. "Now follow me." She made a dash to the next building along, and Hal stumbled after her.

When they were close enough they finally caught sight of Megamind; where the robot's forehead should have been was a large glass dome instead, and inside sat Megamind working the controls. The dome opened up and Megamind stepped out; the few people who had gathered were hiding behind buildings and in the alleyways, and a few helicopters were hovering overhead. He'd earned a fair turnout – but he knew they wouldn't stick around for very long.

"I'm calling you out, Metro Man!" the villain announced. "And unless you answer, my Destructasaur will crush all in its way!" As if to second this statement, the robot let out another roar. The sudden movement of its head caused Megamind to lose his balance momentarily, and trying to cover his ears at the same time didn't help regain it. "Not when I'm out here, you dimwitted creation of science!" He stamped his foot angrily; the Dino wasn't happy, so threw back its head to try and knock him off. Megamind was able to hang on, but not without screaming like a lady.

To Roxanne, it was almost amusing.

It didn't take long for Metro Man to appear. Noticing the hero in white flying across the sky, Megamind quickly climbed back into his dome but left it open. Metro Man hovered at the same height as the robot's head. "Megamind, when will you learn to leave this fair city alone?"

"As soon as I've either kicked you out or until I've destroyed you! Preferably the latter."

"Which concludes that you never learn; bad guys always lose."

"With every statement there's always an exception, and with this one, _I_ am the exception!"

"This is one statement where there are _no_ exceptions. You'll lose again, Megamind. You always do."

What he said struck a cord in Megamind, so instead of fighting back with more banter, her closed the glass dome and took control of the robot. The Destructasaur let out another roar, which sent people scattering to safety. Megamind advanced towards Metro Man, the robot's large metal teeth snapping through the air. The hero avoided the snaps easily, and even placed his hands behind his head to show just how much he _wasn't_ trying.

It reminded Roxanne of _Peter Pan_. "C'mon, Roxie, let's get outta here!" she heard Hal shout, but she ignored him. Instead she moved in closer, unafraid of what was happening and determined to get a closer look at the expressions on each rival's face. Metro Man's was mocking and playful, while Megamind's was more focussed and determined. This was a drastic change from earlier when his expression had been giddy and, in a way, excited.

"This is great stuff, Hal! Are you..?" Roxanne trailed off when she realized that Hal had chickened out and not followed. She only rolled her eyes.

Since he was too focussed on trying to snap Metro Man out of the sky, Megamind didn't realize that the Destructasaur had stepped into the fountain while pursuing the hero. But he soon did when the electronics in the robot's feet short-circuited and disabled it from moving. _Darn, I forgot to make it waterproof_.

Metro Man noticed immediately. Without a second thought he soared down to the fountain below, and using the power of flight and super speed he began to spin, and created a large spurt of water which covered the robot completely. Roxanne, who had taken a step nearer, shielded her eyes away from the splash.

Before the splash, Megamind realized the plan had failed so quickly opened up the dome, grabbed his jet pack and retreated. Metro Man, who hadn't noticed because of the splash, zipped around to the back of the Destructasaur before giving it a small push with his pinky; the robot began to crash to the ground.

But as it did, one of its arms became dislodged...and soared directly towards Roxanne, who was still shielding her eyes from the splash. She couldn't see it coming, and Metro Man was too busy watching the robot fall.

But Megamind saw, and his green eyes grew wide when he realized Roxanne was the one in the arm's path. Without a second thought he turned and made for her, grabbing her out the way just in time. Roxanne cried out in surprise, and when opened her eyes and saw who it was, she didn't know how to react. "What do you think your-"

She cut herself off when she peered back over his shoulder and saw the robotic arm slam to the ground – right where she'd been standing. Roxanne was stunned; her mouth hung open as she looked between the villain and where the arm had landed, unable to believe what had just happened. _He just saved my life_.

Sudden cries from onlookers prevented her from saying anything to him. "That's Roxanne Ritchi from the news!"

"He's kidnapping Roxanne Ritchi!"

Metro Man turned his attention on the villain with the reporter in his arms, but hesitated. He knew he couldn't do anything without risking the woman's life. Who knew what the villain would do to her?

Megamind assessed the situation; he then quickly flew himself and Roxanne around the back of City Hall, placed her on the roof beside the dome on top, before making a hasty exit stage right. Roxanne watched him go, taking in deep breaths.

She cried out when she was lifted into the air _again_, but this time, it was only Metro Man. The hero placed her down onto the pavement below. "Are you OK, Miss?"

Roxanne removed a bang from her eyes. "Yes, I'm fine." She then quickly straightened out her skirt.

Metro Man looked surprise. "Are you sure? You were in the clutches of an evil master mind."

"Yes, I'm sure," Roxanne assured him. "It wasn't like he hurt me, or anything. No harm done."

It looked like the impressed and surprised Metro Man was about to say more, but the pair were suddenly flooded by police and reporters alike. A male reporter – who Roxanne recognized as one of her co-workers – pulled Roxanne aside and away from the crowd. "Frank said to go home and rest. You're probably in shock after what happened."

Roxanne didn't make an argument against him. She was in shock, to an extent...but not because she'd been in danger. The reporter allowed Hal (who had magically appeared again once the battle was over) to drive her back to her apartment while she puzzled over the villain's actions; they were _certainly_ not the actions of a villain. A villain would have left her to die – but instead, Megamind had snatched her out the way. But he had then used her to make his escape, and Roxanne contemplated whether this was the reason he grabbed her in the first place...but the reporter inside sensed there was something more to it.

But if Megamind wasn't a villain then...what was he?


	4. Chapter Four: Admirers

Not really much to say about this one, other than it's shorter than usual.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Mother, for the last time, I'm fine," Roxanne insisted. Her mother had called the moment the young woman had arrived back at her apartment; it would be an understatement to say that she was having trouble explaining to her mother that _she was fine_. "No! You don't need to come and get me! I'm twenty-two years old; you can't just come and drag me back to Lansing for no good reason." She rolled her eyes at what her mother said. "OK, I can see where you're coming from, but he didn't hurt me."

Roxanne had never been so grateful to hear the door knocking.

"Mum, I've gotta go, someone's at the door." She listened to what her mother had to say. "Yes, I'll be more careful next time. Bye." Once she hung up the young woman made her way over to the door and peeked through the peep hole.

Her eyes slid shut, and she turned to rest her back against the wall. _Lord, take me now_. Taking in a deep breath she unhooked the chain and opened the door.

"Rox!" Instantly a pair of arms were thrown around her and she was brought into a lung-crushing hug. "I came as soon as I heard! You must have been so scared!"

Roxanne pushed her friend away to enable herself to breathe again; Tianna took no offence and wandered further into the apartment while Roxanne took the chance to shut the door. "I wasn't scared-"

"It's all over the news!" Tianna ignored her friend's protests as she switched on the TV. Instantly the image of the robotic Dinosaur filled the screen, followed by more images of Metro Man fighting it and Megamind soaring through the air with Roxanne in his arms.

"Earlier today, the self-proclaimed supervillain, Megamind, threatened the city with something he called a _Destructasaur_," the reporter spoke; it was the man whom Roxanne worked with, and who had passed the message from Frank to go home and rest. "It was taken out quickly and efficiently by Metro Man, but in order to escape, Megamind used our station's newest anchor woman, Roxanne Ritchi, as a shield. Since it was ultimately clear Megamind intended to do her harm, Metro Man could not intervene, allowing the villain to escape. Thankfully he left Miss Ritchi behind; she is currently recovering from trauma, and will be back to work tomorrow..."

Roxanne only shook her head at the report; some journalists just loved to twist stories. Admittedly, it did look like Megamind was kidnapping her...but if she had stayed, she would have definitely reported what _really_ happened; how Megamind had saved her life by snatching her out of the way of the falling piece of machinery. Then again, at the end of the day, would people have believed her? That the city's most wanted criminal had saved her live unconditionally? Probably not.

She turned back to the screen. "Could Miss Roxanne Ritchi be Megamind's newest victim? This is Chris Crittenden reporting from City Hall, the location of Megamind's latest failure."

The remote was snatched up by Roxanne before Tianna could grab it herself with the intention of changing it to the next news channel. The reporter switched off the TV before she made her way into the kitchen. "Do you want a coffee while you're here?" she offered.

"Rox, what's the matter with you?" Tianna questioned with surprise. "You were almost kidnapped by Megamind; this blue..._thing_! Doesn't that bother you at all?"

"Tia, I'm fine," her friend assured. She brought out two mugs from the cupboard and switched on the coffee maker. At her friend's uncertain look she said firmly, "Really. He didn't hurt me, I'm here now; everyone's getting themselves worked up over nothing. I would still be out there reporting if I hadn't been sent home." She poured out the coffee once it was done.

The coloured woman just stared at her with a dropped jaw. "Only you, Roxanne. Only you." She accepted the mug off coffee and took a sip. Roxanne did the same.

There was silence for a moment as Roxanne debated telling her friend what had _really_ happened. She guessed it would act as a sort of test; if Tianna believed her, then maybe the public would, too. "Tia...Megamind didn't kidnap me."

"I know. He _nearly_ did, though. He was using you to get away."

Roxanne wanted to slap herself. "No. I mean..." She took a deep breath in before she let it out. "When Metro Man created that wave I shielded myself, but when I did I didn't notice that the arm of the machine had come off and was flying towards me. Megamind did so he...grabbed me. If he hadn't the arm would have killed me. Believe it or not Tia, he...he saved me."

The other woman stared at her for a few moments. But then she burst out laughing. "Good one, Rox! Next you'll be saying Metro Man's really evil!" _Well, there goes that_, Roxanne thought. "Speaking of which, that hunk of a hero _rescued_ you! Any swooning feelings about that?"

"None at all." Roxanne ignored the astonished look that had spread across her friend's face. "Just because Metro Man has money, super powers and good looks, doesn't mean that every single woman on the planet has to swoon all over him."

"Yeah it does!" Tianna thought it was absurd that her friend didn't swoon over the hero.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "No, it doesn't. And I'm sure Casey can back me up on that." The teen who lived down the hallway had already expressed her feelings towards the hero; she only thought of him as a show off and a suck up.

"Oh, don't listen to her, Roxanne. She's just a kid." The woman's brown eyes became bright with excitement when she realized something. "Roxanne, you _must_ know what this means! Megamind kidnapped you – well, he _nearly_ kidnapped you – and Metro Man saved you; you're the _one_!"

"The _one_?" She wanted to know what the 'one' was before she could offer any form of sarcasm or denial.

Tianna placed her mug down (and Roxanne followed suit; she had a feeling it would be for the best). "Yes, the one! Everyone hated Jo Janson; you should have seen how whiny she was." _Trust me, Tia, I heard_. "But now she's gone, Metro's gonna be looking for a new girlfriend, and guess who that someone will be? You!" She grabbed her friend's wrists in excitement.

Her friend raised both eyebrows. "Tia, you've finally cracked. What brought you to that logic?"

"Like I said, the villain _nearly_ kidnap you and the hero saved you," Tianna explained. "You're a reporter, Metro Man's a hero; he saves you and you fall in love. That's how it works; it's destiny!"

"It's not destiny, Tia," Roxanne spoke firmly. She pulled herself from her friend's grasp. "Just because I'm a reporter and he's a hero doesn't mean we have to fall in love, and I'm not about to follow that path because it's what people expect of me."

"You should _want_ to follow it, though! I mean, who _doesn't_ want Metro Man as their boyfriend?"

"I don't. He's...not my type."

"He's _every_ girl's type!"

Roxanne knew she wouldn't get anywhere with her friend, so looked at her wrist; there was no watch. But Roxanne could improvise. "Oh, look at my wrist, you have to go!"

She was about to forcibly shove her friend out the apartment when the mail came through the door; the envelopes clattered to the floor, making both women pause. "That mail's late."

"Casey warned me about that; she said the mail man prefers to take his time, which means coffee breaks in between every single door. Don't blame him." The brunette made her way over to the door and picked up the large pile of letters. Scanning through them, she placed the few bills in one pile while the rest were placed in the bin. "Looks like most of it's just fan mail."

Tianna looked surprised. "Fan mail already? It's only been a week."

"Mostly from male fans who want me in their beds." She decided not to mention the particularly disturbing one sent from Hal, which included a rather disturbing picture of himself, along with a pot of chocolate paste which had been used. The woman shuddered at the memory.

Picking up each letter and placing it in the bin, Roxanne could feel the photos inside each one; so when she felt something different, she paused. Familiar handwriting on the front of the envelope caused a smile to lift the corners of her mouth. Tianna had gone back to drinking her coffee, but when she noticed Roxanne beginning to open a letter (and noticing it wasn't a bill) the woman leapt up and snatched it from her friend.

Roxanne began to protest. "Tia, give it back!"

"What's this?" Tia joked, waving the letter about mockingly. "I thought you weren't reading your fan mail."

The reporter blushed. "This one's...different. Please, give it back."

"Only if you read it aloud." She handed it back and Roxanne finished opening it. It was clear that whoever the sender was, they had taken great care with the letter; the paper was obviously that expensive kind, and had been folded neatly and tidily into the envelope. The sent of perfume filled both women's nostrils as Roxanne unfolded it, to reveal beautiful filigree handwriting inside, written in what could be recognized as fountain pen. It was amazing presentation, and it was what had caught Roxanne's attention the first time one had been sent; after her second day of reporting.

"Dear Miss Ritchi," she read, "Once again, your reports amaze me. You show an amazing amount of intelligence which many reporters do not have, while at the same time, you keep your presentation spotless and you do not flinch no matter the story. I have never watched a more talented reporter before in my life, apart from your father, whom I used to watch as a child. I can tell you have inherited his gift."

"This doesn't sound very romantic," Tianna concluded. The tone in her voice revealed disappointment.

"Maybe to you, it doesn't." Roxanne continued, "I can see in your eyes that you love what you do, and I am happy to see a young woman like you doing what she loves. I hope your talent is enough to keep you in the game; it would be a shame for you to be "let go" when you reach twenty-five. Although with your looks, I doubt that would happen any time soon."

At this Roxanne giggled. Tianna didn't get it.

"Nevertheless, I feel your intelligence will see you through. You and I are alike, you know; we both feel that intelligence is what helps you through life rather than looks – although, you are still a very pretty woman. You may disregard this as another disturbing fan letter; a whole hoard of them will most likely be shoved through your mailbox. But I would like to defend myself by saying that I am not like those other men; I do not want to show myself off to you, nor do I care for horny talk unless appropriate. I am not a knight in armour, I am not a prince, nor am I a saint. You do not need rescuing, Miss Ritchi; you are a strong woman. But if you ever need someone to fall back on, I will be standing behind, waiting to catch you. Yours sincerely, DZ."

"DZ?" her friend questioned. "Who's DZ?"

"I'm guessing those are his initials, Tia." Her friend shrugged. "I don't know who he is, but...I like the sound of him." A small but sweet smile stretched the length of her face.

"Rox, he's a complete stranger. How do you know he's not like the others, and he's only saying these things to get your attention?"

"Because I _know_," Roxanne insisted. "When it comes to these things...I just do." She sighed. "Girls always go for the good looking guys who, a lot of the time, tend to be complete jerks; because of this there aren't many guys like this one around anymore. Guys like this are...one in a million. I'm not about to let that go."

Tianna raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "So are you going to turn on that reporter in you and investigate?"

Her friend laughed. "No, not this time. I'm going to let him play his "game", and when he's ready, he can show himself in his own way."

"How do you know it's a him?" Roxanne gave her friend a playful shove.

Neither of them noticed that, right outside the window, a pair of blue eyes were watching them as their owner hovered many floors above ground.


	5. Chapter Five: Wayne Scott

OK, so a few things before I begin.

First off, there will be some lines/scenes which will be similar to some from the movie. This is how I have chosen to write the story, although I will try and change them as much as I can so they're different, and yet, you can still tell where they came from. Just saying that now so people don't point them out and criticise me about them.

Secondly, Wayne is younger than he is in the movie in this fic, which is why his character is a little different. It's an in-head canon which I have; Wayne was obviously a bit of a spoilt brat when he was a kid, and in my head, this nature stayed through his teenage years. Only it came off as more jerkish (like the football players in school; everyone likes them, but they're jerks). And in his early superhero days he was still a little like this and didn't take things seriously. But then, after years of having to deal with the stress of hero work, including the horrors of night time crime (including death and rape) he matured, took it more seriously, and became the Metro Man we see in the movie. That's just my theory, anyway.

And finally...I don't know if you people in the USA celebrate May Day. I read somewhere that you did, but if I'm wrong then I do apologize.

I hope you like this one!

* * *

It was widely known that when it came to celebrations, Metro City was the place to go in order to celebrate. The city's organization and firework displays were what it was second famous for – below the fact that it was the battleground for two aliens who preferred to go large scale when it came to their rivalry.

Even when they weren't recognized celebrations, there would still be celebrating of sorts; in March there would be a First Day of Spring celebration, where the farms outside the city would open up for the public; June held the longest day of the year, where the city's residents would pack themselves onto the many lake-side beaches in the area for BBQs; in August there would be an End of Summer firework display; and September would be the harvest, where the farms would yet again open for the public.

They still held the usual celebrations, though; Valentine's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. And there was also May Day; celebrated on the 1st of May, it was one of the more scaled down traditions compared to the other public holidays. It was also one of the holidays when Megamind didn't bother to attack the city. He only tended to do so on the larger, more popular holidays, which to the public was puzzling, but they certainly didn't complain.

May Day had arrived, and throughout the city there were many stalls and activities. The centre of it all was the Plaza outside City Hall; it was there that Hal was getting himself set up, ready to shoot Roxanne's report.

"I mean, I don't understand why people celebrate holidays like this," he was saying. His head was in the van, preparing the camera for the shoot, and he didn't notice that he was talking to nothing but thin air. "Christmas, I get. New Year, I sorta get; why celebrate another year gone when it shows that you're just getting older? Easter and Halloween bring candy, so that's cool with me. And Valentine's Day is by far the best. But why celebrate something as pointless as May Day? I mean, what are we celebrating, exactly? You know what I mean?"

The red head turned, camera on his shoulder, only to find that Roxanne was nowhere to be found. "Roxanne? Roxaroo?"

* * *

A block away at the public library, Roxanne was not only enjoying her time away from Hal, but she was also conversing with the librarian who worked there. A man who – from what she had found out – was an expert when it came to Metro Man and Megamind. Apparently he had attended high school with the pair of them, and had been following their battles ever since.

"So what you're saying is that they have some sort of...playbook, which they go by?" she asked. "And if they do, when did they sit down and write the rules?"

"I didn't say that at all," the dry, sarcastic librarian replied. He was a little taller than Roxanne, with brown eyes and sandy brown hair, wearing a blue turtle neck jumper and a brown suit. Roxanne didn't want to be rude...but he was the most boring man she'd ever met. "What I said was that they're sporting towards each other; if one has some kind of medical condition, in Megamind's case, or has a family emergency, in Metro Man's case, the other knows not to attack. The rules which they "go by" are unwritten."

Roxanne blinked. The idea, to her, was just...odd. Was this just a game to them? Was the city even in danger at all? "So are they both the same in that sense?"

"Oddly enough, Megamind is the most sporting out of the two." The man moved along, pushing his cart full of books as Roxanne followed. He placed a book onto one of the selves. "But Metro Man is still sporting, in a sense; whenever Megamind breaks out of jail, he doesn't go and find him. He waits for Megamind to appear in another big machine or make a laser light show with fireworks included."

"That's just odd."

The librarian only shrugged. "It's how they roll. If I were you, I wouldn't argue; if you think about it, no one's been killed, or even hurt. It's better than most battles between heroes and villains."

"You have a point there," Roxanne admitted. "And I know this might sound crazy, but...I have this feeling that Megamind isn't as evil as he claims to be." The man, who had stopped to place another book on one of the selves, turned to look at her with a slightly raised eyebrow. Roxanne chuckled nervously. "I know, you probably think I'm nuts."

"I'm not allowed to insult people directly."

The reporter ignored the indirect insult. "Well, thanks for your...help, but I better get going. I have to report at the May Day celebration. Are there any books around here which might be useful?"

"There's a whole collection of them in the superhero section. But I'll warn you; they were written by Metro Man fans, so they're biased."

"I'll keep that in mind," the woman said. "Thanks again...Barry, right?"

"Bernard."

"Bernard, sorry," she apologized. "See you round." Bernard just sighed as he pushed his cart away.

Roxanne left the building and made her way down the steps; at the bottom Casey and Jace were waiting, the former tossing a rock up and down in her hand while the latter was playing on an old _Game Boy Advance_. When they saw Roxanne leave they quickly hurried up to her.

"You find anything?" Casey asked. Despite knowing that the city wouldn't believe her about Megamind, that hadn't stopped Roxanne from telling Casey and Jace what happened. After all, she needed help, and they were the only ones she could turn to. Regardless of their age.

"Some things," Roxanne admitted. She brushed that annoying bang from her eye. "Not enough, though. I need more. And it's not like I can just waltz up to Megamind himself and ask him some questions."

Jace, who had still been playing on his _Game Boy_, took the chance to speak up. "And that's only if you can find him," he pointed out. "Metro Man may not have put any effort into trying to find him, but the cops have. They can't find him anywhere."

"It's isn't that they can't find him," Casey corrected, "it's that they _won't_ find him. They're too afraid. They just _say_ they're looking for him to keep the public calm."

By this time the trio had rounded the corner, arriving at the end of the Plaza which was right outside City Hall. There Hal was waiting, self-mindedly kicking a stone as he sat where the van door was open – when he saw Roxanne approaching his eyes lit up and he leapt out. "Roxie!"

Roxanne groaned inwardly. _Great_.

"There you are!" The red head took her hand and began to lead her towards the van; Roxanne, cringing at his touch, gently and politely took it back while Casey and Jace offered their own cringing looks in the background. "Everything's set up and ready for the report. But we still have some time, so I thought we could go and get a coffee, or something. Or we could go to the stall which sells spaghetti; we could even share one!"

Casey pointed a finger at her open mouth, showing that she was going to barf. Jace chuckled at her in agreement.

"That does sound nice, Hal, but I'm not hungry," Roxanne told him. The reporter was really trying her best not to cringe...or run away as fast as she could. "Or thirsty, for that matter. I think we should just stay here in case something happens."

At that moment, as if on cue, music began playing. The citizens became a little restless...until they realized it wasn't Megamind's heavy rock music. Instead it was _A Little Less Conversation_ by Elvis and JXL, and they all knew what that meant.

"Hal! Switch on the camera!" Roxanne hissed. He did as asked, and no sooner had he done so a white speck appeared above City Hall. The citizens cheered, all rushing towards the building as fast as they could to try and get front row seats – some even went as far as climbing into the fountain in the centre.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your Metro Man!" a loudspeaker announced.

Metro Man, who was obviously enjoying his surprise appearance, flew out above the crowd. "Who's your man?"

"Metro Man!"

As he soared through the sky, Hal kept the camera on him while Roxanne watched the hero; when he could be heard complimenting individual people, Casey just gave a distasteful look. "What a suck up." Jace nodded in agreement.

A woman who had been selling flowers on one of the stalls found the roses she'd been holding gone, being replaced with money, as Metro Man zoomed past. Tianna, who was towards the front of the crowd, almost squealed over-dramatically when Metro Man hovered in front of her, sent her a wink, and handed her a single red rose. Overwhelmed, the woman fainted – and unfortunately wasn't caught since the two women standing either side of her were too busy gazing longingly at the hero.

It was then that Metro Man noticed Roxanne standing in the crowd; he smiled, the sun glinting off his teeth, and threw her the rest of the roses, neatly tied in a bunch. Roxanne caught them...but dropped them again seconds later when she pricked her finger on one of the thorns.

Metro Man didn't notice; he had found a microphone and used it to address the audience. "Now usually I don't make special appearances to these kinds of celebrations; mostly because I'm patrolling, stopping would-be thieves and other such criminals."

The audience watched with wide, awestruck eyes as the hero drifted above them. One woman took advantage of just how close he was by kissing his foot.

Casey just placed her head in her hand. "Great, here comes the speech."

"If you listen closely enough, it'll make you wonder if he really means what he says," Jace whispered to Roxanne. The reporter only frowned and turned back to the floating hero.

"Celebrations are important in life," Metro Man continued. "They celebrate life, love, freedom, and they make us realize how thankful we are for what we have. When people come together to celebrate, it represents how strong they are. And seeing you all here, celebrating today, makes me proud. Because it shows me just how strong our city is; even in our darkest hours, we kept going. And we'll keep on going; we'll keep holding on until justice finally destroys evil for good."

It would have been a good place to finish, if a man from the audience hadn't suddenly shouted, "I love you, Metro Man!"

Metro Man only chuckled. "And I love _you_, random citizen!" The crowd cheered as he made his grand exit, and when it was certain he wasn't coming back, they dispersed and went back to the celebration.

Roxanne made a signal for Hal to stop filming, and he did. "OK, did he get that off the back of a cereal box, or something? 'Cause that all sounded whack."

"It sounded inspiring," Casey added, "but the way he said it just made him sound like..." The girl drew the word out as she searched for the right term.

"Like he read it off the back of a cereal box," Jace said helpfully.

"Yeah, exactly!" Hal just scowled at them, but didn't bother to say anything. "What do you think, Roxanne?"

"I'm sure he has...good intentions." At Casey's raised eyebrow, she raised her hands up in defence. "OK. OK. It _did_ look like he was sucking up to the audience. I admit it. But he's doing his job as the city's hero, and I can't argue with that."

Casey, again, raised an eyebrow. "It's his job to suck up to everyone with speeches which most likely aren't his own?"

"No. To give people hope." Roxanne took out the microphone from the back of the van and straightened out her skirt.

Hal held up the camera ready. "OK, this isn't a live recording, so if you mess up, it doesn't matter." The reporter stood in front of the camera and prepared herself. "I'm recording in three, two-"

"Hey."

The cameraman leapt back, crying out in shock and almost dropping the camera as Metro Man appeared out of nowhere behind Roxanne. The young woman spun round and gasped, but her reaction wasn't on the same scale as Hal's. Metro Man only chuckled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized. "I probably shouldn't have used super speed, but I didn't want people seeing me." Hal muttered something in the background as he inspected his camera, making sure nothing had broken off. Casey and Jace kept their distances. "So, it's Roxie, right?"

"Actually, it's Roxanne," the woman informed him.

Metro Man chuckled again. "So Roxie, how about we go talk in...private?" he suggested, sending her a wink.

Roxanne was unsure how to reply. First off, he called her 'Roxie' again...and why did he want to talk to her in private? For an interview, perhaps? "Like an interview?" she questioned.

The taller man paused to think. "Er...yeah. Like an interview."

_That'll do wonders for my career_. "OK. Just tell me when and where."

"How about now inside City Hall?" the hero offered. "Being the city's defender, I'm allowed access whenever I want. And I'm sure I can get you in."

"Well..." Roxanne thought. She did have a report to do...but then again, Frank would probably choose an interview with Metro Man over the May Day celebration any day. That would surely get the ratings up. She smiled. "Sure. Why not? Hal, bring the-"

"Without a camera," the hero cut in. "Just...I'll get you something to write on once we get inside." Lightly placing an arm on her shoulder, Metro Man led her away up the steps. Roxanne looked a little uncomfortable, but followed, nonetheless.

Hal just turned away, cursing under his breath. Casey and Jace only watched their older friend walk away. "If she gets drawn in by him... We lost a good one, Jace."

The boy nodded in agreement...but something off to the side caught his attention. _Was that...?_ It was one of Megamind's Brainbots, stealthily slipping away into the shadows. Jace nudged his friend, and when she turned to him he nodded over to the little bot. Casey became just as curious as he was. The pair took off after it when it disappeared down an alley way.

They peeped round the corner, just in time to see it turn down another alley. The teens exchanged glances.

* * *

Inside City Hall, Roxanne sat herself down on the couch of the posh lounge, located at the back of the building. All over the walls stars had been painted, and among them were hanging portraits of Metro Man, along with a few of the Mayor and the Scott family. Beneath her feet there was even a custom made Metro Man rug.

The hero floated over to her with two glasses of wine. "Here," he offered, handing her one.

"No thanks." Roxanne had learnt from her father long ago that if the interviewee offered her a drink, she shouldn't take it. Whether the interviewee was a hero, or not. The man only shrugged, and gulped both down within seconds.

He then took a seat next to Roxanne – a little _too_ close. But it got Roxanne to notice the grey hairs starting to grow in his hair. It confused her a little; wasn't Metro Man supposed to be around her age, or a few years older at least? But then she remembered reading something when doing research before she moved. Apparently, using his super speed made his body work faster to keep up, therefore causing him to age faster. The faster he moved, the faster he aged.

And yet, the man was as happy as he could be, despite the fact that his life may be shorter than normal. "So...let's talk about you."

"I thought this was an interview, Metro Man?" she informed. "_I_ should be asking _you_ the questions."

The man chuckled. "I only said that to sound professional," he told her. "I just wanted to talk to you." Roxanne found herself feeling a little uncomfortable. "And from now on, just call me Wayne."

"Sorry?"

"Wayne. Wayne Scott." He leaned in closer, and Roxanne had to restrain herself from moving away. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm really Wayne Scott, son of Lord and Lady Scott."

She only raised an eyebrow. "I know."

His smile faded and he looked...almost shocked. "You do? How?"

"It wasn't that hard to figure out," she informed. "You don't wear a mask, after all. When you're in tights, you're Metro Man. When you're in a business suit, you're Wayne Scott. Simple." The woman shrugged.

Wayne just stared at her a little longer...but then a smile lit up his face. "You _are_ good at what you do. Just don't tell anyone, OK?"

"Sure." _I'll be highly surprised if a complete idiot didn't know that_.

"But anyway," he continued, "I just wanted to say I thought you were very brave the other day. I've never seen anyone – besides myself – keep their cool when in the presence of Megamind. You weren't even trembling."

"He didn't hurt me." For a moment Roxanne contemplated telling the hero what had really happened, but decided against it; the two aliens were rivals, after all. "And if he wasn't going to hurt me, then why be afraid?"

"How did you know he wasn't?"

She shrugged. "If he was going to, he would have done so. But he didn't."

"Megamind is evil," Metro Man tried to explain. "He likes playing mind games with you; I'd hate to see someone like you fall for them. Once bad, always bad; that won't change."

_But he might not be bad at all_. "I'm sure I can take care of myself."

"You're right," he agreed. "You're a strong woman. You don't need rescuing. Just someone to fall back on."

Roxanne blinked. _That sounded like a line from..._

"You're intelligent, as well," the super continued. "I'm confident that you know the difference between daring and stupidity. Still, you report stories without flinching, and I admire that."

_Could he be him...?_ Roxanne had to admit, he didn't really look like an intellectual person...but then her father had always told her to never judge a book by its cover. And if he _was_ the one sending her the letters, then she was willing to give him a chance.

Although, she would have to ask him what DZ meant. "Thank you."

Metro Man sent her a charming smile. "I've gotta get back to patrolling. What say we meet up again tonight? I'll pick you up and take you out to dinner. Sound good?"

"I...guess that sounds OK." _Why does this feel so wrong?_ "My apartment's the block on _Daring Street_. Number-"

"No worries about numbers. I'll pick you up from your balcony."

"But how will you know which one?"

"Super vision, super hearing, super smell. I'll find you."

* * *

When Roxanne walked out into the open air again, she found Hal waiting for her. "_Now_ can we get this shoot done? Then maybe we can go out for dinner, or something? 'Cause I've got these coupons for this place I know up the street-"

Roxanne was saved by her phone ringing, and she picked it up a little too desperately than she'd intended. "Roxanne Ritchi."

"Roxanne, it's me, Casey."

"Casey? What's up?"

"Jace and I found Megamind's secret hideout."


	6. Chapter Six: Evil Lair Break In

Sorry I haven't been online recently. I've started Uni this week and things have been busy. Which means that my updates will be few and far between, but I will try my best.

So anyway, I hope people enjoy this chapter.

* * *

The news van swerved to a halt as the driver put his foot down on the breaks. In no time at all Roxanne leapt onto the dirt, camera in hand, and wearing a fresh set of clothing. Instead of a blouse and skirt she wore a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and a violet jacket. A pair of white sneakers completed the look.

While Hal opened up the back to get the camera ready Roxanne hurried towards Casey and Jace, who were standing a good distance away from what was either an old power plant or an abandoned factory. The woman made a note to do some research on it later.

"What took you so long?" Casey hissed.

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "I had to go home and change."

"You're not one of those girls who wear two or three outfits a day, are you?"

Again, the older girl rolled her eyes. "No. I didn't think it would be appropriate to investigate in a skirt and high heels."

Casey shrugged in agreement.

* * *

Inside the building, unaware of the pending intruders, Megamind and Minion were working on the genius' latest creation. Both were wearing shower caps, despite their obvious lack of hair.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, sir?" the worried fish asked. OK, so all of his master's plans had backfired before...but this one he was _sure_ would backfire on a whole new level.

Said master scoffed at his minion. "It isn't a good idea, Minion; it's a bad idea! It's positively _ee_-vil!" The fish handed him a large pair of tweezers, which he used to pick up a glowing pill; the villain placed said pill into a gun.

"I know it's evil, sir, but when it backfires-"

"_If_ it backfires!"

Minion rolled his eyes. Commenting on the obvious would be pointless. "Fine, we'll go with that. _If_ it backfires the results would be...rather bad, sir. And not in a good way!"

"Don't be such a pill, Minion." The gun – which looked like a large syringe – began to glow.

"Where did you even get Metro Man's DNA, anyway?"

"The man has a major dandruff problem," the alien explained. He shuddered at the thought. "You would think with his perfect hair, he wouldn't. That's why I prefer to have no hair at all!"

"Apart from the goatee and eyebrows, sir."

"Well, yes, apart from those things, but I meant on my head."

"They _are_ on your head, sir."

"Be quiet, Minion!" Megamind snapped, waving his hands dismissively. An evil smirk appeared on his face. "Once I find a suitable subject, I'll infuse him with Metro Man's powers, make him into a villain, and have him destroy Metro Man for good! It's full proof! Nothing and no one can stop me!"

"Um...sir?"

Megamind turned...

"I can't believe you guys found his secret hideout!" Roxanne's face filled the screen on the monitors behind him, along with the faces of two teenagers he didn't recognize. For a very brief moment Megamind found himself distracted; _her freckles really bring out her eyes_...

_Wait... WHAT THE __**HECK**__ IS SHE __**DOING**__ HERE?_ "HOW DID THEY FIND MY HIDEOUT?"

Outside, Roxanne continued, "How _did_ you find it?"

Jace looked proud. "We followed a Brainbot into the industrial area, but we lost track of it. So we used brains, skills, cunning and-"

"And it was the only building in the area with a '_This is __not__ and Evil Lair_' sign," Casey finished. She pointed to said sign.

Inside, Megamind and Minion froze. "Oh," the former spoke. But then he looked hopeful. "We shouldn't worry. There's no _way_ they'll find the secret entrance."

But outside, the inevitable was happening. "Sure, you've found the hideout," Hal spoke from where his back was still turned, "but I'll bet he has, like, tight security, and all. His door's, like...like, super hidden, or something. Or he has one of those crazy finger print devices, or a head scan, or a code name..."

As he continued, the red head failed to notice Roxanne walking along the side of the building with the teens trailing behind her. Then she froze...and smirked at her find. "Or he just has a doormat which says '_Secret Entrance_'." Stepping over said doormat she passed through the fake wall.

"Seriously, how come no one's found this place yet?" Casey mused as she followed.

Jace hesitated, but hurried after them. "Ooh, futuristic-y," he commented as he passed through.

Back inside, and angry Megamind turned and scowled at Minion, who was trying to slip away unnoticed. "Minion!"

"I kept forgetting where it was!" he tried to explain. "And it's not like I was _completely_ careless! I spelt 'secret' with an 'I'. I thought it might throw them off."

"Well _thanks_ to your carelessness, they'll discover all our secrets! You dimwitted creation of science!" He slapped him out of anger, but since all he could slap was the bowl it wasn't the wisest move. The "genius" howled in pain, cradling his injured hand; thankfully it gave him a chance to think straight. "Just...go get the Brainbots ready and hide as much stuff as you can!" In panic, he shoved the infuser gun into the fish's robotic hands. "Here! Start with this!"

The alien hurried away, ripping off his shower cap as he went. Minion's gaze darted from left to right, trying to find a good place to put the gun, until he finally spotted a metal closet. Without thinking he shoved the gun inside before hurrying away to hide more stuff.

* * *

On the outside, Hal had finally got his camera ready. But when he turned and peered through the lens, he found himself alone. Again.

"Roxie? Roxanne? Ugh, not again!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the front entrance, the trio of intruders had gathered in a circle. "OK, we'll split up," Roxanne decided. "You two take the left wing over there..." She pointed behind the two teens, "while I investigate through that door there." She pointed to the door to the right of them. "We'll meet back here in half an hour with our findings. And whatever you do, don't get caught!" She turned away and left them to it.

Casey walked away too, but Jace stayed put. "You know, maybe I should stay here and...guard the door. In case maybe Megamind's out, and he comes back, then I can come and warn you guys..." But Casey just turned, grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him behind her. "...or I can just look around. Yeah."

Ignoring the teens, Roxanne pushed the door before her open. Her blue eyes widened at the sight; all around her were electronics, inventions, blue prints and pieces of paper hanging from the ceiling. Instantly her camera was out and she began snapping pictures.

_This stuff is...incredible_. This didn't come as a surprise, since Megamind _was_ a super genius; his head was clearly big for a reason. Half the stuff she saw, from what she could make out, could be useful to modern day life. She even found an old plan for what appeared to be an Ipod. "Ah, so _that's_ where it came from."

Casey and Jace – who were investigating another part of the Lair – continued forwards in silence. Neither of them were aware of the blue alien watching them from the shadows.

"Minion, Code: Send in the Brainbots," he whispered into his watch.

Minion – who was hiding somewhere else – sighed. "You know, the whole point of a Code-"

"Oh, Code: Just do it, Minion!"

So Minion pressed the button on a remote. Instantly Brainbots appeared from all corners, bowging angrily with their red lights flashing. Casey gasped, and Jace took the opportunity to leap in front of her. "Don't worry, I'll distract them! You run!"

But when more appeared, all glaring at the boy, Jace lost his cool. He screamed like a girl and hid behind Casey. The girl rolled her eyes. "My hero."

As the bots hovered closer, the blonde found some kind of black and white bat lying around, which she picked up and held it in a defensive position.

* * *

Jace's scream echoed throughout the lair, so it was no question as to whether Roxanne had heard it. When she did the young woman grabbed the closest thing she could find – which just so happened to be an umbrella – and hurried to their aid. _Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have let them in with me_. But suddenly someone appeared in front of her.

"Miss Ritchi, we meet- OW!" Megamind had prepared a nice little introduction speech, but since his appearance had been so sudden, Roxanne had allowed her reflexes to take control so hit him over the head. Megamind rubbed the sore spot with a pout-like expression. "What was _that_ for?"

"You jumped out so suddenly, you scared me!" Roxanne informed.

"Oh, good. Exactly as I planned. OW!"

That had earned him another hit. Followed by several more. Determined to get the better of him, Roxanne continued with the hits, hoping he would cave in so she could get past. But Megamind wasn't liking it one bit.

"Stop! Hitting! Me! With! That! Rain! Shielding! Device!" he protested.

"It's called an umbrella!"

"I don't care!"

Finally Megamind reached out and grabbed it so she couldn't hit him again. This resulted in a tug of war; they turned in circles, pulling each other around the Lair as they fought for control over the "weapon". Megamind pinned her up against the wall, but then Roxanne turned the tables and pinned _him_ up against the wall. The alien pushed against her, and as Roxanne stumbled backwards she tripped, pulling the umbrella – and Megamind – with her. The alien landed on top of her...

...leaving them in a _very_ awkward position.

Megamind's cheeks flushed a lilac colour. Roxanne found herself blushing too...but acted faster than he did. "Get off me!" She roughly pushed him off before standing to her feet and holding the umbrella ready.

Just as Megamind hauled himself off the floor, Casey and Jace arrived on the scene with Minion and several Brainbots chasing after them. Casey still held the bat in her hands while Jace looked a little scruffier than before. There was no doubt the pair had been given a hard time.

"Don't come any closer!" Casey threatened. "I've got a bat...thing and I'm not afraid to use it!" She held the bat more firmly to send a clear message.

Megamind groaned with annoyance. "Sure, let's just throw a party, shall we? Let's all stare at the incredibly handsome criminal genius!" At this point, Casey allowed the bat in her hand to swing loose as she raised an eyebrow in the villain's direction. "You all shouldn't be here!" Megamind continued, pointing his finger at them all, one by one. "You should all be cowering in fear before the greatest supervillain ever to inhabit this tiny, insignificant planet: Megamind! You should all be afraid of me! Especially _you_, Miss Newsie!" He turned his attention on Roxanne.

But there wasn't a single ounce of fear in the reporter's eyes. "I'm not afraid of you, Megamind."

The villain's mouth opened, but no words came out. He didn't know what to say to that. At all. "Miss Ritchi, I'm what people call a _supervillain_. I'm evil. Bad. No good. A criminal. Not to mention being a genius _and_ a handsome devil. I make babies cry, children scream; I make grown men cower in fear! You should be afraid of me! It's not even a question; it's what's what!"

The young woman only shrugged. "I'm sorry, I'm just...not."

Megamind's eye twitched. "Well _that's_ great for a supervillain to hear!" he exclaimed sarcastically. "Just _doondy_!"

"_Dandy_, sir."

"Whatever! I strike terror into the hearts of _an entire city_, but now _here's_ someone who isn't afraid of me!"

"Make that two," Casey added, raising a hand.

"TWO? Can this day get any worse?" he snapped. Then he noticed Jace. "Oh, it can! There's a _third_ person who isn't scared!"

But Jace only cowered behind Casey. The girl rolled her eyes. "No, just two."

Megamind didn't calm down, though. "Two, three; it doesn't matter! It shows I'm losing my touch! I need to get some more material."

While he was ranting, a Brainbot hovered closer to Jace. Not to try and be intimidating; the little creation was only curious. But Jace – who was already on edge – didn't see it as such, so cried out and backed up as far as he could. This resulted in him crashing into one of the many machines in the room. It swerved, but gravity worked it's magic and sent it crashing into another. Like a row of dominoes machine after machine fell, until nearly the entire room had been reduced to nothing but a mess.

And Megamind wasn't pleased.

"BRAINBOTS!"

"RUN!" Jace grabbed Casey's hand and ran; this caused the girl to drop the bat. Roxanne quickly hit Megamind one last time with the umbrella to distract him before taking off after them. The Brainbots followed.

The reporter ran ahead of the teens. Then spying sticks of dynamite up ahead, she snatched one up and grabbed a nearby Brainbot at the same time. Using it's electrical currents she lit the stick. "This'll stop them!" She threw it to Casey, who complied by tossing it to Jace. But the boy didn't quite understand, so began to blow it out.

Casey looked at him like he was insane. "Throw it, you idiot!" Jace got the message, so tossed it over his shoulder.

It landed on the floor and the Brainbots gathered round it, staring at the stick with uncertainty.

BOOM!

* * *

Right outside the Lair, Hal was wandering around aimlessly. "Roxie? Roxanne?" He paused right in front of the secret entrance.

Suddenly three figures crashed into him, followed by the after shock of the explosion. They ended up in a heap on the ground; Roxanne picked herself up first, followed by the teens, but Hal needed help. No one bothered.

"Oh, there you are, Roxie!" Hal exclaimed. "I was just about to come in and...rescue you, but like, fifty ninjas tried to attack me. So I had to like, beat them all up...and I did. And they were all like, crying and stuff."

Casey scoffed. "Brave one, isn't he?" she told Jace sarcastically. He smirked.

If Hal heard her, he chose to ignore the comment. "So what did you guys get up to?"

Roxanne took in several deep breaths. After what had happened, she was all worn out. "Well, we found out _some_ things."

"We did?" Jace asked. Casey mirrored his confusion with a look.

"It may not look like it to you two, but you have to read in between the lines," the reporter explained. "Firstly, I saw a lot of machines in there which don't even _look_ evil, let alone illegal. A lot of it could be really useful. Not to mention I found a plan for the first Ipod."

"He invented the Ipod?" the blonde asked.

Roxanne nodded. "Then when he caught us, he didn't try to hurt us. He was trying to scare us off, if anything."

"He still looked pretty determined that he's evil, if you ask me," Casey commented.

"That's because he _is_," Hal insisted. "The guy's a freak! He sticks out! And that means he's nothing but trouble!"

"You don't judge books by their covers, Hal," Roxanne informed. "You judge them based on their actions." _Even though he's terrorized the city, no one's ever been hurt. And he saved me. He's just not as evil as he proclaims himself to be_. Noticing the sun beginning to descend, she decided to call it a day. She needed to get ready for her date, anyway. "Come on, let's head home." No one argued against her.

* * *

Back in the Lair, the Brainbots were clearing up after the explosion. Minion was coordinating them while Megamind was pouting.

"Why that nosy, unprofessional, rude, irresponsible-! ...bold, daring, mind-boggling, fearless woman." His anger died. Out of everyone in the city – the police, the fire department, and even the gangs – she had been the first person _ever_ to break into his Lair. Without fear. The villain found that he...admired her because of it. More than that; it downright turned him on. _She would make an excellent Evil Queen_.

"Sir?" Megamind was brought from his musings by Minion. "What's the plan?"

All the fish received was a look of confusion. "Huh?"

"Well, we can't let Miss Ritchi get away with that," Minion continued. "Whenever someone makes a fool out of you, you teach them a lesson. That's what we're going to do, right?"

That didn't sit right with him. Megamind _refused_ to give Roxanne an excuse to hate him. Sure, she probably hated him after that encounter, but he didn't want her hating him more. "Why...don't we just forget about her? She's not important."

Minion's jaw dropped. "Not important? Sir, she just broke into the Lair! With a camera! She's a reporter; it's her job to report. All our secrets will be in tomorrow's newspapers! And who's to say Metro Man won't come and haul you back to jail?"

"Because he's sporting; he knows the rules we play by and he sticks to them." Megamind stood himself up and dusted his hands off. "Besides, we have far more important work to be getting on with. _You_ need to clean up the Lair, and then we need to find our victim for the plan."

The fish didn't know what to say. His boss was acting strangely; he usually refused to do anything else until the offender had paid for what he or she had done, but now? It was just...mind-boggling.

"Something's not right here, sir," he spoke, taking a cautious step towards his charge. "You mind telling me what it is?"

Megamind bit his lip. He couldn't tell Minion what was going on; _especially_ Minion. There was only one thing for it.

"Fine! I'll go play a nasty trick on her! But I'll go alone!" he announced. "You stay here and help the Brainbots with clean up! And if this Lair isn't cold and damp when I get back, there'll be no more orders of silk for a month!"

The villain grabbed the keys and strode over to the car without looking back. Minion just watched him with a suspicious glance; something _definitely_ wasn't right.


	7. Chapter Seven: The Wrong Date

OK, so it's been a while. Again. Sorry, uni is kicking me in the behind.

I don't think I need to say anything about this chapter, so...enjoy, I guess. :)

* * *

Roxanne gave her hair a check in the mirror; that annoying bang was in the way of her eye _again_, so she brushed it aside. Only to have it fall across her face again. She huffed; it blew away from her face, but then landed in the same position.

To solve the problem, the reporter brought out a hair pin from her draw and used it to pin the bang in place. It worked...but it didn't look as nice. _Oh well, I would actually like to see what's going on_.

Her thoughts surprised her; whenever the young woman had gone out on dates during college, she'd always strived to look her best. But now...she hadn't even bothered with wearing a nice pretty dress. It was her red one with the black trim along the top, showing off her bare shoulders; something her mother had brought her before she moved. Since red was never really her colour, she hadn't worn it, and it had been sitting in her wardrobe ever since.

It was one of those dresses which she would usually wear in the day; maybe to one of those more meaningful reports, like a celebration? Certainly not one she would wear on a date, but...that was just it.

To her mild surprise, Roxanne realized she wasn't trying to impress Metro Man at all. Even with the knowledge that he was the one sending those letters... But Roxanne couldn't hide the feeling that something about this was wrong. That she shouldn't be dating him. Remembering his earlier performance, and when he had talked to her privately, something about him just seemed...fake. Not that he was faking it, oh no; it was like he had been created by some fangirl who was desperate for a boyfriend. A boyfriend who was handsome, had no flaws and was a full-proof golden boy.

So basically, a male version of the dreaded Mary-Sue.

Roxanne found herself laughing; it did seem to fit him. But then she scolded herself; _you shouldn't judge people by their covers. Try getting to know him. There could be a lot more underneath that invulnerable skin_.

This added to her unease. What would it be like, dating a guy who could crush metal with his bare hands?

There was a sharp knock; Roxanne turned her attention to where she could see the front door from her room, but only then did she realize the knocking had come from her _balcony_. Her high heels clicked against the floor as she made her way into the living room, grabbing her purse along the way. There, standing on her balcony, was Metro Man dressed in a tuxedo. His smile faded a little and was replaced with a hidden look of disappointment when he saw how casually Roxanne was dressed, but it disappeared again when the woman opened her balcony doors.

"You look nice." The compliment was strained; he had been hoping she would have dressed up a little nicer for him.

Roxanne gave him a polite smile. "Thank you. You look nice, too. A nice change from your tights, huh?"

"Yeah."

There was an awkward pause between them. It made Roxanne feel even more uncertain that she'd been before; _I could just tell him I'm feeling unwell...but he's dressed up for me_. "So, where are we going?"

That blinding smile lit his face. "Oh, it's a surprise." He got down on one knee and held out his arms. "Hop in."

Roxanne was a little startled. He was going to _fly_ them there? _Casey was right; this guy __is__ a show off_. She wondered briefly if he could do anything without turning it into a display. "Um..."

"It's all right," he assured her. "I won't drop you."

The reporter knew she couldn't hold it off, so carefully placed herself into his arms. The situation felt even more wrong than it had before. Slowly and carefully, Metro Man took off into the dark skies of Metro City and soared high above the skyscrapers. Roxanne was forced to clutch him tighter as he picked up speed; she made a good bet he'd planned that. _God, why did I agree to this again?_

To her relief, they arrived on top of one of the many buildings in the downtown area; the entire building, she remembered, was one big restaurant. All ten floors. She wondered if they would be eating on the top floor (reserved only for the biggest names in the world), until the woman noticed a small table set up on the roof. Two chairs sat either side, and next to it stood a waiter. In the far corner a musician began to play the violin.

_This guy is seriously trying too hard_.

"You like?" Metro Man asked.

Not wanting to be rude, she simply replied, "I have no words."

"Thought you wouldn't." The waiter pulled out Roxanne's chair, allowing her to sit. Metro Man sat opposite. "A beautiful view, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Staring out across the city, Roxanne had to agree that much. Although it made her feel a little queasy being up so high.

The waiter poured them some wine before disappearing to get their menus. The violin player continued to play a dull tune.

"So," the hero began, "do you want to keep this on the low down, or do you want people to know?"

Roxanne gave him a questioning glance. "About what?"

"About this." He gestured to herself and the table. "It would be good for your career, dating the city's hero, but if Megamind knew about it, he'd kidnap you. Unless I keep an ear out for you."

"Actually, Wayne-"

"And it would be good for me, too; if people knew we were dating it would keep all those fangirls away-"

"Wayne." At that point, the man paid attention. "It's good that you're already considering this, but it's only our first date. There's no need to be thinking about that stuff yet." _If it keeps going like this, there won't even __be__ a second date_. Despite wanting her career to escalate, she preferred to work upwards through hard work, rather than just dating the city's superhero. She didn't like the idea of just being his girlfriend to keep the fangirls away and...him keeping an ear out for her just sounded a little creepy.

Wayne blinked at her statement; like he was surprised she would say that to him. But he shook it off. "Sorry, Roxie."

The reporter cringed at the nickname.

"So," the hero continued, "you probably know that it was me who sent that letter. I was dropping a few hints last time we met."

"Yes, I worked it out."

"You're a smart reporter. One of the best I've ever seen."

"And don't you mean letters?"

Metro Man froze for a moment. "Yes. Letters. That's what I meant."

Like he had just stated, Roxanne was a smart reporter. And she could smell a rat. _No wonder this feels wrong_. "So what was it you said about blue eyes in the first letter? I seemed to have forgotten."

Like a turkey in the oven, Wayne began to sweat. He even performed the traditional 'guy loosens his collar when he's nervous' trick. "Um...I said...err... Wait! Wait! I remember! Err... I said they were as deep as the ocean blue."

Wrong answer. "No... "You" said they were a perfect match with the evening sky on a beautiful clear night! Wait, hold on...it wasn't _you_ who said it, was it?"

"Roxie, I can explain-"

"And _don't_ call me _Roxie_!" she shouted. "You lied to me! And not only that, but there's a guy out there pouring his heart and soul into those letters, and you took credit for all of them! I don't know what the city sees in you; I don't know why they even call you a hero, but all I see is an overgrown jerk of a jock!"

By this time she was on her feet, glaring at the man opposite – who frighteningly enough, was eye level with her despite that he was still sat down. But that didn't stop Roxanne; she showed no fear as she faced him. The violinist in the background stopped playing and carefully slipped out the door.

Roxanne threw her napkin down. "I knew this felt wrong, and now I know why! You're not the guy who sent me those letters! How'd you do it, hmm? Was is super hearing to eavesdrop on me, or was it super vision to read the letter yourself? Hmm?"

"Please, if you let me explain-"

"You don't deserve it." Hastily, Roxanne turned on her heal and stormed over to the door.

But Metro Man beat her to it and appeared in front of her. "If you were a real reporter, you'd give me a chance to explain myself. To hear _both_ sides of the story."

The reporter almost snarled at him out of spite, but she knew he was right. "Fine. But it better be good."

"I'm getting lonely," Wayne explained. "I need a girl in my life. You're the hottest girl in the city-"

"Wait." Roxanne had to stop him at that. "Because I'm _hot? That's_ why you went out with me? You need to have a _hot_ girl at your side to keep your image? You're supposed to be a _hero_; you shouldn't _care_ what girls look like on the outside! Only what's on the inside! You had your chance, and now you've blown it."

She turned again, looking for another way; she found it in a ladder attached to the side of the building, trailing down to the ground. The woman hurried over to it and swung her leg over, prepared to climb down.

"Hey, at least let me fly you home," Wayne offered.

"No, just...leave me alone." Roxanne didn't know why she felt so hurt. Insulted, maybe. Angry, definitely. But hurt? She hadn't even been interested in the guy.

When she was half way down the woman began to curse him; she knew he could still hear her, but she was beyond caring. "That smooth, stuck up, spoilt, lying...brick! If he wasn't invulnerable, I could murder him! What kind of a hero is he? The fake kind, that's what! He ruined my night! Things couldn't get any worse!"

Right on cue, lightning filled the sky, and thunder clapped all around. And rain began to pour down heavily.

Roxanne looked unamused. "Fate, why did I even tempt you?"

After almost slipping a few times, Roxanne finally made it to ground level. Then, with her arms wrapped tightly around her and with her purse in hand, she proceeded to walk home in the rain.

* * *

Megamind had been driving around in circles. Not because he was lost; he knew his way around the city like he knew the back of his hand. The villain was just trying to kill time before he deemed it safe to head back to the Lair.

The idea of playing a nasty trick on Miss Ritchi hadn't sat right with him, even after his short argument with Minion. So instead he decided to drive around for a little while until late, when he knew the fish would be powered down. Hopefully Minion would have forgotten by morning.

It had begun to rain, but Megamind didn't really care. Rain was rain. He turned another corner and continued up the street.

But then something – no, some_one_ – caught his eye.

A woman was walking home in the rain, hugging herself; and from the way she was hunched over, Megamind could tell she'd been stood up. Or dumped. He'd seen too many women walking home like this after dark. _Human men. Think they can do whatever they want with women. If I was lucky enough to date a girl, I certainly wouldn't- Wait! Is that Roxanne?_

He did a double take, and when he realized exactly who it was, he hit the breaks without hesitation.

Roxanne paused when she heard the sound of a car stopping, but when she looked up, she couldn't see anything. Her confusion deepened when she heard the sound of the same car reversing, apparently stopping right next to her.

Then a door opened in mid air, and out jumped...Megamind.

From the look on his face, Roxanne could tell he was a little shocked to see her, and was that...concern? The woman didn't know whether or not to take a step back.

The alien before her hesitated. He didn't know exactly how to ask her... "Um...what are you doing out here in the rain?" _I swear, if some guy's broken her heart..._

"It's none of your business," she snapped. Megamind looked taken aback, and...hurt? Roxanne was a little surprised. "Sorry. I've just had a bad night."

Again, Megamind hesitated. His next question was even harder to get out. "Do you...do you want a ride home?"

This time, Roxanne was more than a little surprised. She raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously. "This doesn't have anything to do with what happened earlier, does it?"

"What? No! No! That's all blown over!" The blue man waved his hand, portraying a careless front.

"Even so, you _are_ the city's supervillain." _Even though I think you're not as evil as you say_.

"Thank you for acknowledging that, Miss Ritchi," Megamind spoke, "but not tonight. Tonight I...just so happen to be off duty. It would be against my honour to take advantage and kidnap you. Besides, you don't look in a well enough state to be deemed worthy of kidnapping."

Roxanne only raised an eyebrow. _What kind of supervillain is he?_ She considered his offer; getting into a car with a self-proclaimed supervillain wasn't a wise move, but...she was cold, she wanted to get home, and she didn't want Wayne to suddenly come after her.

"Fine." She made her way round to the other side of the Invisible Car, but Megamind beat her to it; he opened the door for her. Roxanne sent him a surprised glance, but she was grateful. "Thanks." She climbed in, and Megamind climbed in round the other side before they took off.

"Where do you live?" he asked.

"The apartment block on _Daring Street_. You can't miss it." The woman sighed, running a hand through her short, wet hair. She knew she'd regret telling a supervillain where she lived, but at that point in time, she didn't care. "I'm sorry I'm getting your car wet."

"I'm wet, too," Megamind pointed out, referring to himself; he had just been standing in the rain, after all. "I'll get Minion to dry it out later."

For minutes on end, they sat in silence. The situation was just awkward; but Megamind eventually found the silence unbearable. _Say something to her, you big doof! You can't just sit here in silence!_

"Soooo..." he began. _Yeah, real smooth, genius_. "May I ask _why_ you were walking home in the rain, or do you not want to talk about it?"

Roxanne ran a hand through her hair again (_great, I lost my hair pin in the rain_). She really didn't want to talk about it, but...she needed to get it off her chest, and there wasn't anyone else she could confide in. Tianna, being the fangirl she was, was a definite no. Her mother would take it as a signal to drag her back to Lansing. Casey and Jace would have a field day over it. Hal was just a big no. And Frank had a good view on Metro Man; he brought in the station's ratings, after all.

And since Megamind was the hero's nemesis...there was a chance he would be more understanding. It was worth a shot.

"I went on a date with Metro Man."

The car skidded to a halt and Megamind gave her a shocked look. _And is that a look of hurt again?_

But he shook it off. "You... What?"

"Before you say anything, it was just a test," Roxanne explained. "You see, I've been getting these letters from some guy. He sounds really sweet and caring, and...I like him." She didn't notice Megamind's hidden smile. "But Metro _Douche_ decided to eavesdrop on me and took credit for it."

Megamind looked livid...but it faded. "Douche? Mind if I use that someday?"

"Feel free." She sighed. "I only gave him a chance because he relayed those same words in the letter to me. I don't know how he became a hero in the first place; he's just a stuck up...jerk! He's not even _dreamy_!"

"I know!" Megamind agreed. "Finally someone else gets it!" With the shock gone, he started driving again. "But I am a little surprised; _every_ woman finds him dreamy. And you don't?"

"Do you really think I seem like someone who would fall all over him? _Oh, Metro Man, you're so dreamy! You have no flaws at all and that makes you wonderful! You're a dream come true! Marry me, and we can have dozens of babies!_" Megamind couldn't stop himself from laughing. "I keep telling people he's not my type," Roxanne went on to say. "I prefer brain rather than brawn."

"You don't say."

Finally the car pulled up outside her apartment block.

"Thanks," Roxanne thanked him as she began to climb out.

"Wait, Miss Ritchi." Said woman turned back to him, just as Megamind held out a card for her. "Since you and I see eye to eye when it comes to Metro Man...call me. You may have the makings of an Evil Queen."

The reporter shook her head with a smirk, but took the card anyway. "Keep dreaming, bad boy." She pushed the door shut and turned to walk inside.

Megamind watched her rear with an equal smirk. "Who needs dreams when I can make them a reality?" With an evil cackle, he sped away into the night.

At the sound of his car zooming down the road, Roxanne turned back to watch (although she couldn't see anything). That had been...nice. Compared to what she had seen earlier when she'd broken into his Lair, the Megamind she had just encountered had been...completely different. Understanding, and more of a gentleman than even Wayne.

Turning once again, Roxanne couldn't hide the small smile upon her face.


	8. Chapter Eight: Good For Bad

Firstly, I haven't forgotten about my other stories! The next chapters for those are just taking a little longer than usual. Hopefully at least one of them will be up tomorrow, though.

I apologize for this chapter being shorter than usual. But it's still important.

Also, for those of you who haven't checked out the LiveJournal community yet, then please do! We need more fans!

Hope you guys like it!

* * *

Mornings in the Lair could vary, from Minion's point of view. Sometimes, after a breakout – or a battle in which Megamind was able to escape from instead of getting hauled off the jail – the boss would be too exhausted to get up, and would therefore have a lay in. Other times, inspiration would strike the blue genius in the middle of the night, and Minion would find him up and working on a new project.

That morning fell into the latter category, but it was a surprise, nonetheless.

The fish entered the workshop, carrying a box of doughnuts and a cup of coffee, and was immediately met with the familiar sound of rock music and drilling. Usually Minion would just place the breakfast on his master's desk and wander away to start on his chores, but this morning, his attention had been caught; _weren't we supposed to be working on the latest scheme? Finding a victim to infuse with Metro Man's powers?_ Megamind had been so excited about it the day before. What had changed since then?

Still stood in the doorway, Minion's eyes scanned the room; plans and blueprints were left lying all over the desk area, sheets of paper were hanging from the ceiling, and books and scrap paper were scattered across the floor.

And in the middle of it all, Megamind was working on something – up on a ladder and drilling away – which Minion couldn't quite make out.

The fish made his way over to the desk, placed the doughnuts and coffee among the papers and blueprints, before switching the music off. He knew he wouldn't be able to get his master's attention with all that racket. "Sir, what's going on here? I thought we were working on your "greatest scheme yet" today?"

"Huh?" The alien stopped drilling and turned, lifting his goggles from his eyes. "Oh! Minion! There's been a slight change of plan." He turned on the ladder and allowed it to drop so he landed directly in front of his fishy friend. "Last night, I came up with a brilliant, _new_ plan!"

Minion looked a little sceptical. "New plan, huh?" But then his eyes widened when he realized _what_ books had been scattered across the floor. "Sir! Those are my cliché romance novels! First additions, too!" In a flurry, he hurried over to the books, trying to pick them up before any of the Brainbots could get their teeth into them (and one already had, which Minion promptly snatched away). "Sir, I've told you hundreds of times, not to...touch..."

He trailed off when he glanced up and saw something in the hanging cards. Something which made his autumn brown eyes grow wide and his mouth drop down.

It was the word '_Roxanne_'. "Roxanne?"

Megamind chuckled, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders in a "buddy-like" manner. "Yes, Minion! Roxanne is the key!"

"The key?"

"Yes, the key! The key to the lock which is Metro Man's weakness: his heart!" As Megamind continued, walking around the work area in full monologue modem, Minion glanced down and realized for the first time, _why was sir reading my romance novels?_ Then, glancing at the scrap paper, he noticed that each piece contained a lovey-dovey drawing of his master and the reporter. "You see, Minion, when I ventured out last night, I discovered that Miss Ritchi had gone on a date with Mr. Goody Two-Shoes; he obviously has a thing for her! And I will use that to my advantage!"

"I see," Minion spoke slowly, narrowing his eyes at the drawings. There was something _else_ going on here, too; he was sure of it.

Megamind continued, "Those novels of yours were really helpful, Minion! I discovered that the only weakness a man has is his heart! Therefore Metro Man _must_ be the same! This is metaphorically speaking, of course; I doubt we can find a way to blow up his heart. But to _wound_ it; that would kill him for sure!"

His minion raised an eyebrow (if fish _had_ eyebrows). "And how exactly are we going to do that, sir?"

Megamind's green eyes sparkled with glee. "By using this!" He dramatically pointed to the machine he was working on. "I call it the _Love Machine_!"

"Love Machine?"

"Yes!" Two Brainbots set the ladder up again, which Megamind climbed, before using his gun to move it along a long line of pieces of paper, all hung up. On each Megamind had drawn out stages. "When the time is right, we'll kidnap Miss Ritchi and place her in the machine. But, when she comes out again, she'll be hopelessly in love with me! Then, we'll broadcast the two of us together for the entire city to see! Metro Douche will be _so_ heartbroken he'll lose the will to live, allowing me to zap him with my Death Ray, and leaving me as Overlord of Metrocity!" This was followed by a dramatic evil laugh.

Which, evidently, resulted in him falling off the ladder.

Minion just stared at his master. "So you're making a woman fall in love with you against her will? That's...not really our style, sir."

"But has our style worked before?"

"No, but-"

"Then we'll try something different!" Megamind picked himself up, brushing the dirt from his leather spandex suit.

But Minion wasn't done yet. "Sir, I think this is a bad idea."

Megamind's smile widened. "Yes! It's a wickedly bad idea for the Greater Good of Bad!"

"No, what I'm trying to say is that, even from a Bad perception...it's just plain bad."

"Oh, you don't know what's Good for Bad!"

Minion sighed. His boss was as stubborn as a mule, and he knew it all too well. There was no chance of changing his mind. _Might as well just go with it_. "So...how long will that take? I mean...to build everything."

"Well, I'm not sure, but I know _what_ we need to build," Megamind began; a Brainbot appeared next to him with a list containing three items, which Megamind read from. "There's the Love Machine, both the outside structure and it's workings. I need to read a lot more of those cliché romance novels before I start on that part. Then there's the Death Ray; we need to not only build it but also get it into space without drawing too much attention. Also we need to select a couple of the Brainbots to send up with it." In the background, several of the Brainbots hid themselves, just in case the selection was about to take place. "And finally, I'm planning on making a battle suit for when I'm Overlord; it'll be used to terrorize the city and fight back against any nut-job cops of any of those folk from the army."

Minion, who had been noting this down in a pad, went to lick the tip of his pencil...but then realized that he couldn't, due to the glass and water separating tip from tongue. So instead he just dipped it in his water. "Anything else?"

"Um... Oh, yes! I need you to make me a new cape, and a leather suit to match! Oh, and platform boots! These custom baby seal ones are going a little out of fashion." He held one up to his minion, revealing the seal shape on the sole and the name scraped into it. "And make it my most terrifying yet! I want to make the citizens scream in fear, and maybe impress a few of them."

_Would one of them be Miss Ritchi?_ Minion decided not to voice his thoughts. "Looks like we'll need new shipments in from that outlet store in Romania."

"Okey-dokey, then! While you do that I have to do...something else." Minion watched his master suspiciously as he disappeared from the room. But no more than a second later, his blue head was poked around the door. "By the way, Minion, I read in one of those novels that men give women thirteen burgundy roses to show her she has a secret admirer? Why thirteen? Isn't that an unlucky number?"

"Some call it such," Minion explained, turning his back in order to pick up the rest of his books. "I don't know why they use thirteen. It's a tradition, I guess."

"Oh."

There was a pause. And it was enough for Minion to realize, _that was an odd question_.

"But sir, why do you want to..." But when he turned, the alien was gone. The fish sighed. "...know that."

* * *

There was a knock at the door. Wearing her new yellow blouse and a pair of jeans, Roxanne hurried to answer it, finding the mail man standing outside her door.

"Parcel," he informed, handing her a long, small box. Roxanne took it. The man then held out a pen and paper. "Please sign here."

_What a bore_, Roxanne thought as she signed. _I wonder if he's related to Bernard?_ When the man was gone and the door was closed, Roxanne found a pair of scissors in the kitchen and used them to open her parcel. She gasped at what was inside.

There were thirteen burgundy roses, all freshly picked, and absolutely perfect. No thorns to prick her fingers on, or anything. Carefully, the young woman picked one up and took a whiff. _Yep. Definitely fresh_.

Laying on top of them was a small white envelope, and recognizing the handwriting, she shouldn't have been surprised. Roxanne smiled when she opened it up and read what was inside; it made her heart beat just a little bit faster.

_Get a hold of yourself, girl_, she told herself. _You haven't even met this guy yet_.

But she wanted to. She really, really wanted to.


	9. Chapter Nine: Prison

And another update! I du'know; I'm in a writing mood, I guess.

Things jump around a lot during this chapter, so I hope people can keep up. If not, then I do apologize. :(

* * *

"I'm glad you could all make it," Roxanne addressed the crowd of four sat before her.

Casey, Jace, Tianna and Hal had each received a call from the reporter, asking to meet them in the library. While the two teenagers had suspected what it was about, Tianna had tried to talk Roxanne into meeting at the mall instead, while Hal had thought the woman had finally accepted his proposal to go on a date. He had been disappointed when three extra people arrived as well.

Roxanne had set up a picture of Megamind on the wall, and using a long pointer, she pointed at it. "I've called you all here today because we need to solve the puzzle that is the city's supervillain. Who is he really? What made him into a villain?"

"What's the point, Roxie?" Hal spoke up. "He's nothing but a freak of nature. People hate him for a _reason_. Now can you ask these guys to, like, _leave_, so we can enjoy our date in peace?"

The reporter gave a frustrated sigh. She didn't even _bother_ correcting Hal; he was never going to learn.

"And why can't we investigate Metro Man, instead?" Tianna asked. She couldn't understand why her friend wanted to investigate the villain when there was a perfectly dashing hero they could investigate instead. "He's _far_ more interesting!"

"I beg to differ," her friend pointed out. "Barely anyone knows _anything_ about Megamind. Everyone knows _everything_ about Metro Man. _You_ even know where he _lives_, for crying out loud!"

Casey gave the coloured woman a questioning look. "You do? You mind telling us so we can play Ding-Dong-Ditch on him?"

"Casey!"

"What?"

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "OK, let's get started."

* * *

They started by watching old videos from various reports. The library was full of them, saved for journalistic purposes and fangirls who couldn't get enough of the hero in white. Bernard brought them out, and with a sour expression he set up the old TV before leaving the gang to it.

The rookie reporter had seen some of the battles before, during the weeks before she moved to the city, but it was handy to watch them again. As the events played out she jotted down anything unusual, hoping the information might connect so she could get a bigger picture.

She was the only one working. Tianna had already fallen asleep, and Hal was slowly drifting – but he went eventually, his face landing in the bowl of popcorn in front of him.

Casey and Jace were watching, but they weren't taking notes. They were just shoving their faces with popcorn, watching the reports as means of entertainment. The pair reached for the last piece of popcorn, and their hands and eyes met. It was enough of a distraction for Casey to grab the last piece and pop it in her mouth; Jace pouted.

Roxanne, glancing at the four of them, only rolled her eyes.

* * *

Minion hurried into the workroom with a box of spare parts. "The shipments came, sir!"

"Good work, Minion!" Megamind congratulated. "Now...um...go and give the Brainbots their oil."

"But sir, I already gave them-"

"They've been working extra hard! Give them some more!"

Minion was suspicious, but didn't say anything against his master and left. Megamind waited for his minion's footsteps to echo away, and once he was certain the fish was gone, he leapt into his leather chair in the far corner of the room and switched on the monitors.

Instantly Roxanne's face filled the screens, bright and beautiful as ever. Megamind sighed dreamily.

"_Metro Man may be defender of our fair city during the day, but what about the night?_" the woman spoke into her microphone. "_As it is, night time crime is higher than it's been in this decade alone, and with the streets as filthy as they are, it's no surprise. Mayor Kingsley has been warned that Metro City is at risk of becoming one of the dirtiest cities in the state._"

A thought occurred to Megamind.

* * *

Mounted on their _Spe-ider Bot_, Megamind and Minion circled the streets in the dead of night, their steed eating up any garbage in sight; then, after "digestion", it came out the rear end in cubes, which the Brainbots cleared up.

To say, Minion was confused. "Why are we cleaning up the city, sir?"

"Well..." _Come on, I had a good excuse for this earlier!_ "When we take over the city, we don't want it to be dirty, do we?"

Minion decided not to question his master.

* * *

Walking to work the next morning, Roxanne noticed how much cleaner the streets were, compared to the state they'd been in only the day before. In fact...they looked cleaner than they'd ever been.

Roxanne smiled, wondering.

* * *

The mugger dug through the contents of the purse with a greedy gleam in his eyes. But he yelled in surprise when suddenly, he was zapped from behind by something; blue light surrounded him, and within seconds, he became a blue cube which landed by the feet of the victim who was still on the ground. The woman gave a confused look.

Then Megamind and Minion appeared; the former picked up the cube and the purse.

"And...why are we stopping crime, sir?" the baffled latter asked. He shook his can of Knock-Out Gas and sprayed the woman before she could scream. She collapsed in a heap on the ground.

"Because _we're_ the villains, Minion," Megamind explained, placing the cube in his pocket and dropping the purse into the unconscious woman's lap. "We need to get rid of the competition." He walked on ahead with a smile on his face.

Minion just gave him a look.

* * *

"Tia!" Roxanne ripped the magazine from her friend's grasp; it was a Metro Man special addition, with a quiz which girls took to see if they were the hero's "dream girl". Tianna had been reading it behind a book on Megamind. "I told you; we're researching _Megamind_, not his rival."

"Sorry, I just can't help it!" The reporter sighed and moved on.

"Casey!" She snatched the book itself from the teenager. "You're not supposed to be looking at stuff like that!"

"It's still about Megamind," the blonde protested. "Even if it does discuss his alien biology and gives a detailed drawing-"

"I don't want to hear anymore!" She stormed away with the book in hand, leaving Casey to pick up another one. Noticing Bernard passing, she made her way over to him. "These books you directed us to have no truths in them whatsoever. I mean, alien vampire? A blue Devil? Come on!"

"I told you they were biased," the dreary librarian informed. "I find them amusing, reading about how creative people can be."

"I guess." Roxanne sighed. "I need to keep looking. Thanks again for letting us stay here a little longer."

"Just don't stay too long, otherwise we'll _both_ be in big trouble." He walked away without a second glance.

Roxanne sat herself down next to where Jace was still reading and placed a hand to her head. On the bright side, at least Hal hadn't shown up; something about dingos and kangaroos.

"You OK?" Jace asked.

The woman groaned. "I don't know where else to look. My father always told me that in every unreliable piece of information, there's an element of truth. But I can't find _anything_ in these books!"

"You need reliable sources," the boy stated. "In this book, it said he grew up in the _Metro City Prison for the Criminally Gifted_. I don't know if that's true, but if you think about it, he's been in that prison a lot. So maybe the warden there knows something."

She thought this through. And then brightened up. "Yes... Yes, you're right!"

* * *

With _Mr. Blue Sky_ playing on the radio, Roxanne wasted no time in driving to the prison on the outskirts of town. Since landing a job at KMCP, Roxanne had taken the time out to research the city's prison; it was a special prison, specifically designed to keep in the smartest of criminals. The ones who robbed the biggest banks, the drug dealers who had kept their businesses secret for so many years, and most famously of all, it kept in the world's best escape artists.

All except Megamind. _His head is definitely big for a reason_.

After parking, Roxanne boldly walked straight up to the guard at the gate, who was sat inside his "box". "I'm Roxanne Ritchi from KMCP 8 News. I'd like to speak with John Warden, please."

The man raised an eyebrow, before picking up the phone and speaking into it. "Warden, there's a reporter who wants to speak with you. Uh huh. No problem, sir." He hung up and turned back to Roxanne. "Right this way, madam." He stepped out, and Roxanne followed him into the building.

Inside they took a left, then a right, before finally coming to a closed door. The guard knocked twice.

"Come in."

The door was opened. "Miss Ritchi to see you, sir."

Roxanne stepped in, allowing the guard to shut the door again. The warden was sat at his desk filled with paper work which he was trying to complete, but pushed it aside at the sight of the reporter. "Sit down, Miss Ritchi." So Roxanne sat. "You're Rowan's daughter, aren't you?"

The woman found herself a little surprised. "You knew my father?"

"We were both working on an investigation some years back. You were only a little girl at the time." He chose not to tell her what the investigation was about. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I'm currently working on a report concerning the city's resident supervillain, and since he's taken up residence in your prison more often than not, I wanted to ask you some questions."

John was uncertain what to make of this. "You're not planning on writing another one of those biased novels, are you?"

"No," the reporter replied without flinching. "I tried looking in those, but they're full of nothing but lies and assumptions. I want to get the truth about Megamind; I want to uncover who he really is." The warden almost smiled...but restrained himself. "So tell me... I read that he was raised in this prison. That's not true, right?"

The warden chuckled. "Actually, that's about the only piece of information they got _right_."

Roxanne's eyes widened. "He really _was_ raised here? But...how?"

"I remember the day well," John began to explain. _Has it really been over two decades now?_ "It was Christmas; since this is an all-year-round job, I was here with a few of the guards. Then all of a sudden, there was this huge crash. It had come from the yard; at first I thought it was an attempt at a riot. But when I got out there, the prisoners were beginning to surround...some kind of pod. When I reached it the pod opened...and inside, was a little blue baby and his pet fish."

There was no question as to who that was. "So he just landed here?"

"Mm hmm. And within the first few weeks of his arrival, he caused a prison riot. He built a tricycle out of licence plates and blasted a hole in the wall."

Roxanne almost laughed. "I'm sure he didn't mean to."

"I know. He was just trying to make his own enjoyment." John chuckled again. "I remember him looking up at me innocently with those big green eyes of this. Those eyes are a killer, they are; once they have you, you're a goner."

The woman couldn't blame him. The alien's eyes really were extraordinary. "So why raise him here? Is that even legal?"

"With a normal baby, yes," the warden replied. "But with him, there was no other choice. I wanted to keep him from a world I _knew_ would despise him because of his looks. I placed him in the care of the more trusted inmates; there were a whole group of them who all had families, and had only committed crimes because they needed money to keep those same families alive. They weren't exactly the best of uncles...but they did a decent job."

Roxanne noted all this down. "So what made him become a villain?"

John's eyes saddened a little. He remembered that day well; the little boy had come "home", proclaiming himself to be a supervillain, and one who would rule all of "Metrocity" (as he pronounced it). But he couldn't tell this to the reporter. "I think that's something he should tell you himself. If he feels like it. If not, good luck getting it out of him."

The brunette didn't know what to say to that. "Hold on, you mean...interview him?"

"Crazy as that sounds, yes," the warden said. "If you want to write this report properly, you need to interview the man the report is about. But I mean it when I say good luck." Half of him was surprised (and half of him wasn't) by how Roxanne wasn't freaking out at the thought of interviewing the alien.

"I guess..." She sighed. "I could give it a go. Thank you so much for your time."

"It's my pleasure, Miss Ritchi." Once the reporter was gone, John allowed a smile to creep across his face. _If my judge of character is correct, she may be exactly what that boy needs_.


	10. Chapter Ten: The Call

Not really much to say about this chapter, I don't think...

* * *

Roxanne stared at the phone on the hook and the card which lay next to it.

It wasn't that she was scared to call him; calling up total strangers and arranging an interview with them was something she was used to. And the idea of calling up an alien supervillain wasn't what kept her from doing so. The whole situation just seemed a little...unusual.

The young woman scratched at her new rainbow-coloured jumper which barely covered her shoulders; she regretted buying it, since it was so itchy. And the constant need to scratch wasn't helping make her decision at all.

_Come on, it's not like he'll hurt me_, she thought to herself. _Stop holding yourself back and pick up the phone!_ But when she went to do so, her hand hesitated and she quickly pulled it back. _Ugh! I'm acting like a teenager about to phone her crush!_

That thought sent a shiver up her spine. _Oh god, did I just make that connection with a supervillain? OK, focus, focus..._ She sent the mental image away; what would happen if _that_ was in her head when she spoke to him?

And she _needed_ to speak to him. If she wanted to find the right information, she had to see him again; she had to get _his_ view. Roxanne had glanced under the black sheets and discovered the traits of a normal man that night in the car; all she needed to do was remove those sheets completely to get the full picture.

To do that, she needed to call him first. Turning up at the Lair again unannounced probably wasn't the best idea.

"Ugh. I can't believe I'm acting like such a wimp." She snatched up both the phone and card, dialled the number and held the phone to her ear. On the other end, she could hear it ringing.

* * *

In the Lair, Minion was carrying boxes backwards and forwards across the workroom, while Megamind was sat at his desk with a grin on his face. Minion ignored his boss, thinking the alien was working on another sketch or idea.

But if he had taken a peek, he would have noticed that Megamind was doing nothing of the sort. The grin was a lovestruck one, and on the paper, Megamind had drawn a heart with his and Roxanne's initials in the middle.

The phone next to him began ringing, and absent-mindedly he picked it up. "Ollo?"

Minion, who was just passing, corrected him. "It's _hello_, sir."

"Oh. Hello?" He turned to his minion. "Like that?"

The fish gave him a thumb up and continued on his way.

On the other end, Roxanne took in a deep breath. _Well, it's now or never_. "Hey, it's me. Roxanne."

Megamind almost fell from his seat, dropping both phone and pencil in the process. "Roxanne!" He quickly pressed the phone to his ear again while covering up the doodle hurriedly with more pieces of paper – in case she could magically see it through the phone. "What... Why are you...calling? I mean, it's not that you're not welcome to call! Or...no, people shouldn't phone supervillains during work hours! It's inconvenient."

"It's Sunday."

She was met with silence. "Evil...never rests?"

The young reporter rolled her eyes. "So you want me to call back-"

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he begged, standing suddenly. Then realizing how desperate he sounded, he screwed his eyes shut and cringed, sitting himself down again. "What I mean to say is... You've already called now, so there's no reason to call back. It's inconvenient for me; I'll have to stop working _twice_!" Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Soooo..." _Ugh, I need to stop saying that! _"Miss Ritchi, may I ask why you are calling a supervillain? Seems a bit _bad_, don't you think? Unless you're accepting my offer as my Evil Queen?"

Roxanne almost laughed...and couldn't help but shiver in a good way at the sound of his seductive voice. _Me and my hormones_. "Not a chance." On the other end, Megamind deflated and felt a twinge of pain. But then Roxanne continued. "I was calling because...well... I don't know how to put this exactly... I'm writing a report about you and I need an interview." She closed her eyes, waiting for his reaction.

For a moment, the line was silent. "You want to do an interview...about me?" From the tone in his voice, it sounded like he couldn't believe it.

"Well...yeah," Roxanne replied. "I mean, everyone knows everything there is to know about Metro Man. But nobody knows the truth about the hero's nemesis. I read through some of those books in the library, but they're filled with rubbish."

"Tell me about it." As he spoke, Megamind put on a new glove he was testing, which would control his battle suit. "Some of the theories these Earthlings come up with are just unimaginative. Sent as a scout at eight days old to gather information before the invasion arrives? Come on!" He swept the gloved hand in a gesture, knocking over a pot of pencils. In the background, a large hand from the suit did the same, knocking over Minion, who had been passing. "For starters, why would they send an eight day old baby? Secondly, my kind were a race of geniuses; they wouldn't _need_ to send a scout in order to invade! And thirdly, why would they want to invade a planet full of mindless drones?"

Roxanne laughed out loud. Quite literally. And Megamind couldn't resist saying, "Wow."

"What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just...I've never heard you laugh before."

"It's been a while. It actually feels pretty good." Roxanne couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard.

Megamind felt his heart grow warm at the thought of making Roxanne laugh. Using his gloved hand, he picked up an eraser and began tossing it – not realizing that the giant hand in the background had picked up Minion, doing the same thing to the fish.

"There's also the fact that if I _was_ a scout, I would have become a _hero_ instead of a villain," he continued. "That way I could gain everyone's trust, and no one would _ever_ suspect a thing!"

The young woman giggled. "There was also the theory that your people and Metro Man's people were at war, and when your people ended up destroying both worlds, they sent you away so you could take over the Earth, while the other kind sent Metro to defend it. But I don't get that." Megamind listened, paying no attention to Minion being tossed up and down in the background. "Metro Man is an overgrown jock while you're...well... When Metro Man shows off, in my eyes it's obvious he's trying too hard. Like he's trying to look all cool and smooth. But when _you_ show off all your gadgets and inventions, it's like...you're showing a part of yourself. You know?"

"Well, presentation _is_ everything," he told her. Roxanne found herself giggling again. "So, about that interview?"

"Oh, yes." _For a moment there, I completely forgot what I was calling about_. "I was actually thinking...if it's all right with you..."

But as she said this, Minion's shrieks grew higher, and Megamind could barely hear Roxanne over the noise. "Hold on a second Roxanne." He rested the phone against his shoulder while he dropped the eraser and removed his hand from the glove. Instantly the giant hand in the background became lifeless, and Minion fell to the floor with a thud. "Minion, stop playing around and keep it down! I'm trying to have a _civo-loused con-vor-saton_, here!" He failed to notice Minion rest his hand against his tank, before collapsing to the floor again. "Continue."

"Well, I don't want to have it at my apartment," she explained. "I assume Metro Man has already come here, since he eavesdropped on me before, so who's to say he won't again? I physically wouldn't be able to stop him from dragging you off to prison. And meeting in a coffee shop or restaurant would be worse."

"I do have a watch which can generate disguises," Megamind informed. "Just choose a person you want me to be; it's as easy as that."

She smiled. "I'd love to see how that works, but I would rather talk to your own face rather than someone else's."

Megamind blinked. _She wants to see my face instead of a human face?_ "Really?"

"The interview's about _you_, after all," she replied. "I was actually thinking more along the lines of...your Lair? I know I made a mess and caused a lot of trouble last time-"

"Sure."

It was Roxanne's turn to blink. "Really? Even after what happened last time?"

"I told you it had all blown over. Besides, I actually admire how much courage you have in order to do that; not even the _cops_ would pull something like that." Roxanne blushed. "But it's a whole other matter if you're planning on bringing Velma and Shaggy."

She almost laughed again. "No, they're not coming."

"Good. What's say...you come over tonight at eight?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Megamind bit his lip. He didn't want this phone call to end... "So, I'll...see you then."

"OK." Roxanne brought it away from her ear, hung up and sighed. Why were their butterflies in her stomach?

Megamind couldn't believe his luck; not only had Roxanne called him...but she was coming over, too! It wasn't a date...but it was close enough for him. "Minion!"

The fish – who had finally managed to pick himself up – steadily made his way over. "Sir? You look rather excited."

"Roxanne's coming over for an interview!" he announced. The alien rose to his feet and began to pace. "So I want this place as neat and clean as possible! Polish the domes of the Brainbots! Put the heating on and warm this place up! Get rid of all the damp! Oh, and hide the Love Machine, the Battle Suit, and the plans for the Death Ray! We can't let her see those!"

Minion narrowed his eyes; things really were starting to coming together. He turned away and whispered under his breath, "Sure, I'll even cook a full course meal for the pair of you, too."

Megamind heard, but he didn't detect the sarcastic tone. "Yes! An excellent idea, Minion. Why didn't _I_ think of that?"

The fish only sighed.

* * *

Evening came faster than Roxanne thought it would. Three-quarters of an hour before eight (she preferred to leave time for traffic; better to arrive early than arrive late), she was looking over herself in the mirror. It was like Megamind said; presentation was everything.

Her clothing was casual; she wore black leggings with a black long sleeved shirt, and on top of that was a purple jumper-dress, newly bought. She wore black boots to match. Something nice, but not classy. _After all, it's only an interview. Not a date_. But for some reason...she had still wanted to look nice.

She tried to remove the annoying bang from her eye, but it refused. The woman sighed out of frustration; the only hairpin she had was lost on the night of the failed date with Metro Man, and even though it hadn't looked that nice in her hair, at least she could _see_ with it.

_Oh well. I guess this will have to do_. The reporter placed a notepad and pen in her black shoulder bag before heading out.

She gave her doorman, Carlos, a nod as she left the building. Then she took out her keys and her blue eyes looked towards where her car was parked.

"Hey, Roxie!"

Roxanne jumped out of her skin and spun round, and to her displeasure, she came face to face with Hal. She was particularly disturbed by the fact that he was wearing the same t-shirt he'd been wearing the last time she saw him.

"Oh, Hal, you scared me," she said, taking in deep breaths and removing the bang from her eye again. "Why are you here?" _Why can't you leave me alone for one day?_

"Well, I was having a party," he began, "and I thought you could come over. I got a DJ, rented a bouncy-house, made like, a gallon of dip, and all that..."

"A party? Sorry, I really don't feel like being around a bunch of people right now-"

"No, no, no! That's the best part! It'll just be, like, you and me!"

Roxanne tried her hardest _not_ to cringe. "Um..."

"I also hired a wedding photographer, in case we wanted to do something crazy, if you know what I mean..."

By this time, Roxanne really _was_ cringing. "Tempting as that sounds, I have other plans. Sorry."

"It's cool. I'll see you tomorrow morning, right?"

"Goodnight, Hal."

She turned and walked away. Hal kept smiling until he was behind the News Van, which he had used to drive over; at that point, he lost it. "What's _wrong with me? Rented a bouncy-house?_ Chicks don't like bouncy-houses! They like _clowns!_" He punched the van, but immediately regretted it. "OW! Stupid van!"

Hearing this Roxanne turned, in time to watch Hal drive away. On the side-walk. Knocking over a trash can in the process. The young woman turned away, the look on her face showing how disturbed she was. _That boy has some serious issues_.


	11. Chapter Eleven: It's a Date?

OK, so parts of this chapter were inspired by two songs, both from _Shrek: The Musical_. The first is called _When Words Fail_; it's pretty adorable. And the second is called _I Think I Got You Beat_; because it's a good banter song.

Also...yes, I've given Megamind another name in this story. Sue me.

* * *

Flowers in hand, Megamind paced back and forwards, rehearsing over what he was going to say to Roxanne once she arrived. It would be an understatement to say he was having trouble with his words.

"OK, one more go. Roxanne, I picked these freshly for you – well, I didn't pick them, one of the Brainbots did…and it was from someone else's garden… But it's the thought that counts, right?" He shook his head. "No, no, what am I thinking? That won't work."

So caught up in his attempts, the alien didn't notice Minion enter the main part of the Lair, a box of steaming hot pizza, a box of doughnuts and two card cups of coffee in his arms. Instead of making dinner, he'd decided to just get some take outs, instead. He had a funny feeling as to where his master was trying to go with all this, and he didn't want to make it any worse with one of his delicious specials.

Megamind tried again. "Roxanne, I present these flowers to you because…they're pretty. I thought you'd like them because…you're pretty too. And I'm not saying you're just a pretty face; you're also big." His eyes widened. "I meant your _personality_ is big; I didn't mean to say you're fat! _No_! I mean, your hips are a little wide, but I like that! And…and… _Gaaahhhh!_" He slammed his large head against the wall.

Minion, not wanting to interrupt, just left the dinner on the desk before slipping away.

Still, Megamind didn't notice him. "What am I going to do?" he asked himself. "Must I always be a failure?" The alien closed his eyes and sighed.

"Hello?"

They snapped open again at the sound of the familiar voice. And then they widened when the Brainbots flew past him to investigate. "NO! No, no, no, no, no, no!" He dropped the flowers as he hurried across the Lair, reaching the entrance just in time to witness the Brainbots swarm around Roxanne. They weren't hurting her, but they weren't allowing her to take any step further. "No! Bad Brainbots! Miss Ritchi isn't an intruder; I know she was before, but things are different now."

The Brainbots moved aside as Megamind made his way through, standing himself in front of Roxanne. "I told you Daddy was having a guest over, didn't I? And what did Daddy tell you not to do?" All the Brainbots lowered their heads in shame, and not only was Roxanne unsure what to make of it, but she found their actions humorous. "That's right, Daddy told you not to attack her, didn't I? Now go on, back to work!" And they all drifted away again, heads still lowered.

"They act just like dogs," Roxanne noted.

"And that makes them good guard bots, _and_ they never bite their Daddy. Most of the time." Roxanne wasn't sure whether to laugh at this comment or not. "This way, Miss Ritchi."

"Oh, call me Roxanne." She followed Megamind into the larger part of the Lair, where all of his old inventions and blue prints were visible. The young reporter strained her neck looking up at it all, her eyes wide. "Wow. Look at all this."

"Impressive, right?"

"Amazing, more like." Megamind looked over to where he'd dropped the flowers, but too his annoyance, saw that two of the Brainbots had found them and were ripping them to shreds. When the pair noticed his angry expression, they gave apologetic barks and slunk away. "I can't believe you built all this on your own." Taking advantage of Roxanne being distracted, the alien quickly kicked the ruined flowers under one of his creations. "Scientists are having trouble creating AI technology, and yet here you are _with_ AI and so much more."

"I don't expect much from humans and their insignificant brains," Megamind stated. When Roxanne gave him a look, he quickly added, "And I'm not bragging, or anything. It's the truth. No offence."

"None taken." She brushed the bang from her eyes, and Megamind gulped at the motion. "So, where should we sit? And what should we start with?"

Megamind tried not to gawk at her as he replied, "Well, we can take the interview over to my desk; Minion cooked dinner, so we can eat that first before we get started. If I'll say one thing about Minion, it's that he's an excellent cook." But when he reached the desk, his face fell at the sight of the pizza, doughnuts and coffee. He lifted the lid of the pizza box. "Great, he chooses _tonight_ to get a take-out."

Meanwhile Roxanne was still looking around her. "Just one question to start off with; did you have a bad past which made you evil?"

The lid dropped again. But then he chuckled. "What made you think that, Miss Ritchi?"

"Well, nearly every villain I've researched had a bad past which led to their actions," the reporter explained. "It's a little predictable, but-"

"Predictable? _Predictable?_" Megamind couldn't believe it. "You're calling _me_ – the greatest villain who ever lived – _predictable?_"

_Not the greatest. You can't even kill anyone_. "I'm just saying that bad pasts have an effect on a person's future. It's going a little too far, if you ask me-"

"And why is that?"

Roxanne smirked. _Operation 'Get Megamind to Talk' is a go_. "Well, I had a pretty rough time growing up myself."

_How could __she__ have a rough time? She's the daughter of Metrocity's most successful anchorman!_ "Oh yeah? Try me. I bet you I can top it."

"In Lansing we barely had any money, we lived in a rough neighbourhood, I wasn't allowed out after dark, and the heating rarely worked in the winter. But instead of resolving to crime in order to bring in money, I worked hard at school and got jobs." She crossed her arms and smirked at him. _Megamind always likes bantering and challenges; he won't be able to resist_.

He chuckled. "You call _that_ tragic? I _grew up_ in a prison." He turned his back on her, giving Roxanne the opportunity to take out her pen and notepad. "Sent away from my home planet, and I end up landing in the worst possible place. I was almost _killed_ in a prison riot when I was _seven_. _Seven!_ I am the Overlord of bad pasts, and I refuse to be proven otherwise!"

_OK, good stuff. But I need more_. "Our neighbours were never friendly."

He scoffed. "Mine were convicted criminals! They didn't even give out Krissmoos cards!"

"I didn't have a Prom! And it was on my Birthday!"

"I was sent away from my planet of Krissmoos day!"

_Blimey_. "I caught Chicken Pocks _twice!_"

"I almost died of pneumonia!"

"I was never allowed friends over!"

"I _had_ no friends!"

"My father is dead!"

"My parents are dead!"

The last two were said at the same time, and only then did the pair freeze, panting for breath. Things had gone too far. They turned from each other, not wanting to make eye contact.

_I remember now_. Twelve years before, there had been a report on the news that Rowan Ritchi had been killed in a car accident. After what that man had done, Megamind should have paid closer attention to it…but he had been too busy scheming. It then made sense why Roxanne had a rough life afterwards, and why she moved away. It was horrible how something so terrible could happen to someone as beautiful as her.

_Why did I do this again? _Bantering with Megamind had been a good idea at the time; it would get more information out of him, rather than her trying to unsuccessfully coax it out of him. But she had let it get out of hand. _He was sent away from his planet for a reason… Is he the last of his kind?_ The thought made her feel sorry for him.

She needed a distraction, and she found one in the form of a rather amusing robot. The young woman almost laughed when she walked over to it. "Is this a unicorn?"

The machine was large, made of metal and included spikes…but it was in the shape of a unicorn, and the thought of a supervillain creating it was hilarious.

Megamind paused. "_Noooooo…_"

_In other words, yes_. "It's _so_ a unicorn!"

"It is not!"

"Is so."

"Is not!"

"Is so."

"Is not!"

"Is not."

"Is so!" Then after realizing what he said… "Gah! You trick me you…you…temptress! Have you even _considered_ my offer to become my Evil Queen?"

This time, Roxanne _did_ laugh. "I don't think black is…that slimming on me."

He gave her a seductive smirk. "You're wearing black now, and it looks _very_ slimming on you."

A shiver ran down her spine. _Ugh, what it is about that voice?_ "Come on, let's get on with the interview." She suddenly ducked when two Brainbots zoomed over her, chasing each other. "If we can ignore the distractions."

_But I can't ignore you, Roxanne. You're interviewing me_. "If you want to get away from the Lair, I know a place where we could go."

Roxanne gave him a questioning look.

* * *

Five minutes later they were in the air, riding on something Megamind called a hoverbike above the city. Roxanne wasn't afraid of heights, but being so unstable so high up was a little daunting, and it caused her to grip Megamind tighter. She didn't notice Megamind's cheeks turn a lilac colour.

"Are you sure this is safe?" she shouted above the motor.

"Perfectly," Megamind called back to her. "It already passed the safety check."

"What about the test flight?"

"This _is_ the test flight."

Roxanne's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "_What?_ So anything can go wrong at any time?" She tightened her grip.

"Of course not!" he assured her. "If it passed the safety check, then nothing can go wrong!"

A light started flashing, along with a little beeping sound. "Then what's that?"

"Oh, it's just a warning to say that the bike will stall." Then it processed. "Uh oh."

The engine stopped, and the bike began to fall. The pair of them screamed as the city lights grew closer and closer.

"Megamind, _do_ something!"

"I'm trying!" He kept on turning the key, but the engine wouldn't start. They were starting to fall past the taller towers; Roxanne screwed her eyes shut and buried her face into the villain's back.

Then finally he got it started, and was able to stop the fall seconds before it hit the road; they avoided cars, buses and lorries, screaming all the way, until finally, Megamind got it above the city once more. Both panted, their hearts beating faster than usual.

Roxanne was the first to speak. "Wooh! What an adrenalin rush! Could we do that again?"

Megamind gave her a confused look. _First she's scared, and now she wants to go again? I'll never understand women_.

* * *

Later, Megamind and Roxanne were sat down on a grassy cliff which overlooked the lake. The alien had rehydrated the food (which he had dehydrated first for convenience); the pizza had been finished, and the pair were working their way through the doughnuts.

"I'm really going to have to visit the gym after this," Roxanne commented.

"Hardly. You don't need it; your body's in perfect shape." When she turned to send him a confused glance, his face turned that lilac colour again and he hesitated. "At least...in my scientific opinion. You're what a human female should look like."

"Flatterer, but I'm still not going to be your Evil Queen. I'm a good girl." Megamind pretended to pout, making Roxanne giggle.

The young woman didn't know what to make of this experience at all. On her date with Metro Man, she hadn't blushed, she hadn't been attracted to him; she hadn't even dressed up nice for him. But with Megamind... He was making her laugh, making her blush, making her shiver in all the right ways... _Get a hold of yourself, girl! You barely even know him!_

When no words were exchanged for a few moments, Roxanne took it as her cue. "I visited the warden in the prison. He told me you grew up there; you pod landed there when you were a baby. But he didn't tell me how you actually became a villain, and why. So why did you become one?"

Megamind looked away to avoid meeting her bright blue eyes. He hadn't spoken about what had happened to him since...the day it had happened. And that was only to Minion. The memories were painful, and he hated remembering them. But if Roxanne wanted to know... He sighed. Could he deny her anything?

"It all started when the warden signed me up to go to _shool_." Roxanne didn't bother to correct him. "Even though I knew a lot of information already; the workings of an engine, how to wire a computer... Simple stuff. I was looking forwards to being with kids my own age. But then when I got there..._he_ was there."

Roxanne didn't have to ask who he meant. "I think I can see where this is going."

"All the kids loved him," Megamind continued. "I tried to win over their friendship, using the power of _pop-ed_ corn." Again, Roxanne didn't bother to correct him. "But it blew up in my face. Mr. Goodey Two-Shoes didn't eve ask what had happened; he thought it was an attempt to attack everyone so placed me in the quiet corner with no questions asked. Whatever he did and said, nobody questioned him. Not even the teacher. Fitting in wasn't even an option."

"That's horrible."

"It gets worse." Megamind screwed his eyes shut. "Mr. Goodey Two-Shoes invented a new kind of dodge-ball to play during _reck-uss_. I would stand up against the wall, and they would throw balls at me. One day they tried to use Minion as a ball, so I stopped bringing him in. I tried to make a force-field helmet to protect myself...but like with everything I made, it backfired. Then one day...I realized something. Being bad was the only thing I was good at. So I embraced it."

When he finished, Roxanne didn't know what to say. Megamind's childhood had been far worse than her own; in fact, she couldn't imagine a worse childhood than his.

She couldn't conjure up any words that would express how sorry she felt for him...so she went with the next emotion. "That low-life, spoilt rotten _brat_! He's nothing but a bully! If he was a _really_ good, he would have made friends with you! How can people even _see_ him as a hero?"

Megamind gave a shrug of acceptance. "If you think about it, he's got the looks, he's the son of a Lord, and he has cool powers. He's _supposed_ to be the hero. And villains...villains are supposed to look...different. And that's why I'm the villain."

The reporter could _feel_ her heart reaching out to him. "I think your brains are cool." When he turned back to her, she continued. "Just because people told you that you're bad, doesn't mean you _are_. You look different, but that's a good thing, if you ask me."

The alien didn't know what to say. It was almost as if this beautiful woman was too good to be true... "I don't understand this."

"What?"

"Why are you so interested in me?" he demanded. "Why don't you treat me like everyone else does? Why don't you fear me?"

She could understand why he was asking these questions; he had been rejected his whole life, so therefore he wasn't able to understand her actions. So she decided to reassure him. "I'm interested in you because that's what you are; interesting. Metro Man has no flaws, no weaknesses; nothing interesting happening there. I don't treat you like that because everyone has a right to be treated with respect and kindness. And I don't fear you because...there's nothing _to_ fear. You may call yourself a villain, everyone else may call you a villain...but I don't think you're a villain, at all."

That stunned him to silence. No one had ever told him this outright, not even Minion (although, the alien suspected his friend had thought this many times). Something inside him opened up, and just like that, Megamind felt much warmer and much happier than he'd felt in a long time.

And Roxanne had done this.

The bang fell in her eyes again, and grunting in frustration, Roxanne swept it aside. But it only fell again.

Then suddenly, a gloved hand reached out and removed it; it was Megamind, sitting a little closer to her than before. When it was removed, Roxanne expected it to fall again...but it didn't. He had gotten it to stay in place, almost like magic.

When he didn't move away, she met his eyes.

And just like in the movies, they began moving in.

But just before their lips touched, thoughts of the man in the letters flashed across Roxanne's mind, and she moved away again. Her heart had never felt so torn before. _But it's probably for the best_. The thought of getting caught up in a fiery relationship with a supervillain (bad or not) was, she had to admit, a little scary.

Megamind understood her reactions. _It's my looks. It always is_. It was for this reason why he _needed_ to make the machine.

To try and cut the tension, Roxanne asked, "What's your name?"

Megamind blinked. "It's Megamind! I can't believe you've forgotten that already!" _Why must I always use this behaviour to hide my pain?_

"I meant your _real_ name," she said. "I hardly expect your parents named you 'Megamind'."

"Yeah, I know." Even after what had just happened, he still couldn't deny her anything. "But please don't laugh. I'm a little embarrassed by it."

"Don't worry, I won't."

He took a deep breath.

"It's Dooley. Dooley Zoran."


	12. Chapter Twelve: Destiny's a Choice

OK, so there's four songs in this. _If You Wanna be a Good Girl_ by The Backstreet Boys, _Bad Boys_ by Alexandra Burke, _Good Girls Go Bad_ by Cobra Starship (Feat. Leighton Meester) and _Supervillain_ by Nichole Scherzinger. Why so many? You'll see. ;)

Also, cookie goes to those who can spot the line from HTTYD. :)

* * *

It was late, and Megamind and Roxanne _still_ weren't back. Minion allowed himself to sigh as he cleaned up the various clothes which had been left around his master's bedroom; the villain had been trying to find something to wear earlier on, until he realized that he only owned near enough the exact same outfit for all occasions.

The fish was getting worried. Sure, he'd never seen his boss happier...but he feared that this would only end in heartbreak. These things always did. And it was his job to protect Megamind from any kind of harm. He had failed to do so many times during their childhood; so, he decided to make up for it. He had to talk to Megamind before things went too far.

Hearing the motor of the hoverbike, Minion hurried from the room – wash basket in hand – and peeked his dome around the corner, to see Megamind and Roxanne arriving back.

The bike was coughing and stumbling, and when it landed, it let out what could only be described as a sigh of exhaustion. Megamind was cringing while Roxanne was trying _not_ to laugh.

"It...still needs work," Megamind admitted. "And to be honest...it only passed by 90% in the safety test."

Roxanne rolled her eyes, but with good humour. "All items need to pass by _100%_ in order to be deemed as safe." Megamind climbed off first, before holding a hand out to her and helping her. _Quite the gentleman_.

"Huh. Maybe _that's_ why my machines nearly always fail."

The young woman giggled, before continuing with their previous conversation. "So even though the pod contained your name, it didn't contain Minion's?"

"Unfortunately not," Megamind informed. "It was knocked about a lot during the flight; information was lost because of this. And all thanks to Mr. Goodey Two-Shoes, with his flashy show-off pod."

"That's kinda sad." She sighed; things had gone a lot better than she thought they would, but now, she didn't know what else to say. "So..."

"So..."

A tense silence followed.

"I better...get going," Roxanne spoke up. "I have an early start tomorrow, so..."

"Yeah, yeah, I understand," Megamind said. "It was nice...talking to you."

Roxanne nodded. "Yeah. You too." Then, after a pause, she punched his arm. He yelped. "That's for almost getting us killed." Rubbing his arm, he gave her a confused look. But then, all of a sudden, she leaned forwards and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "And that's for...everything else." Then she turned and hurried out the holographic entrance without looking back.

Megamind, still in a daze, reached up to his cheek and touched it. That quick peck hadn't been much...but it was still something, and the alien sighed with a goofy grin on his face. That grin remained, even as he passed Minion on the way to his bedroom. "Goodnight, Minion," he sighed dreamily.

Minion just watched him with wide, uncertain eyes, before slipping away towards the washing machine.

All fell quiet in the main part of the Lair. That is, until a voice was heard.

"Roxie?"

Hal appeared from behind one of the inventions, glancing nervously round. The red head had followed Roxanne, curious as to where she had gone, and had been shocked when she ventured inside Megamind's Lair. Alone, no less. When he had finally plucked up the courage to go after her, he'd ended up hiding in a place where no one could see or hear him – which unfortunately, worked so he couldn't see or hear what was going on around him.

"Roxie, are you here?" Slowly and cautiously, he crept across the cold floor. "Maybe she left? Yeah. She probably left. If she was still here she'd be, like, screaming from being tortured, or something." Noticing a door marked 'Exit', he opened it and slipped through.

But cried out in horror when he almost lost his balance and fell into a pit. Below him were a group of alligators, apparently having a disco from what he could tell; there was music, a disco ball and everything. Hal was out of there in a flash, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Sir, was that you?"

Hal panicked when he heard someone coming. Then, noticing a metal closet (and ignoring the warning labels posted on the doors), he opened it up and leapt inside. The doors slammed shut behind him.

Minion arrived on the scene, but didn't see anything. "I could have sworn I heard something. Probably the Brainbots fighting over the wrench again." He wandered off.

Inside the closet, Hal let out a sigh of relief. But this sigh caused stuff to fall on top of him, and he cried out when he found himself nose to nose with a strange-looking gun. "Uh oh."

It triggered, fired, and the last thing Hal saw was a bright, white light.

* * *

Driving home, Roxanne didn't know what to think or feel. _I almost kissed him. Then I gave him that kiss on the cheek. Not that I didn't want to..._ She really felt like hitting her head against the steering wheel. Never had her heart been so torn.

First, there was the guy who kept writing her such heart-filled letters, pouring his emotions and himself into them. And then there was Megamind; the not-so-evil supervillain who made her blush and shiver in all the right ways.

_But I need to choose one_. Wanting to relax a little, she switched on the radio.

"_If you want it to be good, girl, get yourself a...bad boy._"

Roxanne sighed in frustration and turned it onto the next channel.

"_The bad boys, are always catching my eye..._"

She rolled her eyes and changed the channel again.

"_I make them good girls go bad..._"

And she switched it again.

"_I need a supervillain to come and rescue me..._"

Finally she gave up and just switched it off again. "Ugh. This is ridiculous."

* * *

"_The city's parks restored to their original glory, the streets the safest they've been! Has Metro Man finally taken on the night, too? Or is there a new vigilante working in the shadows? This is Roxanne Ritchi, cautiously optimistic, and pleasantly confused._"

Watching Roxanne's broadcast the following morning, Megamind allowed that goofy grin to spread across his face once more. The plan had been a success; Roxanne was happy, even if she didn't know it was him doing all this.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Minion noticed.

"Huh?" The boss glanced down at where the fish was fitting his new cape. "Oh, yes. The new plan is almost ready, after all. How long is this going to take, Minion?"

"Just a few alterations, sir, and I'll be done with your most terrifying cape yet! I'm calling it...The Black Mam_baaaaaaaa_!"

Two of the Brainbots removed the cape and replaced it with Megamind's normal one. "The Black Mamba; it sounds positively horrifying! So you just...carry on working on that; I need to go...run a quick errand." He picked up a small letter from his desk and stuffed it in his pocket.

Minion saw, and decided it was time to confront his master. "You don't run errands. Sir, lately you've been acting strange. And I think I know why."

"Strange, Minion?" his master questioned innocently, turning back round again. "I'm not acting strange."

The fish gave him a sniff. "Then why are you wearing cologne?"

"That's not _colli-oge_, it's just...my natural musk. Now, where are the car keys?" Spotting the keys on the side, he reached out for them.

But then without warning, Minion activated his stretchy arm and grabbed them, instead. "I _do_ know why; you've been acting strange ever since Miss Ritchi moved here. It's because of her!"

Megamind laughed. "No, my main fish! Get out of town!" He turned his back on Minion to hide the look of worry which was slowly appearing on his face. "Why would I fall in love with an Earth female?"

The fish gasped. "Oh no. This is bad. You _have_ fallen in love with her!"

The alien cringed. "You're..." He turned again. "You're forgetting your place, Minion! I'm the Master of All Villainy, and you're my henchman! Now give me the keys!" He reached for them again, but Minion extended his arm out across the room.

"Roxanne's a good girl and you're a bad boy; it'll never work!" he pleaded.

"Minion, I swear, I will flush you down the toilet and I _mean_ it this time!" Then his eyes glanced down at Minion's robotic body, and remembering something, he pressed a button. Minion cried out as his arm fell loose, dropping the keys before his arm reeled itself back in.

Both aliens glanced at the keys, then at each other, before they leapt for them at the same time. The keys flew into the air; Megamind ran to catch them, but ran straight into the Invisible Car (which had been in stealth mode).

This allowed Minion to catch them instead. "This has gone far enough!" He dropped the keys into his bowl.

"That was really grown up!" Megamind chased his minion around the car, until it got to a stage where they were on either side, side-stepping backwards and forwards.

"Sir, it's for your own good!"

"What do _you_ know?"

"I may not know much, but I _do_ know this: The bad guy doesn't get the girl!"

"Well, maybe I don't _want_ to be the bad guy any more!" Minion froze and let out a high pitched scream. "Yes, you heard me!"

The fish was speechless. Megamind had always insisted he was bad; saying something like that was _so_ unlike him. "Who are you?"

"Someone who's tired of the game!" the blue alien shouted. "You know as well as I know that I never wanted this! Any of this!"

"_I know_, sir, but you can't change just like that!" Minion tried to tell him. "Do you really think people will accept you? Do you really think they'll forget and forgive?" Megamind calmed down, and avoided eye contact with the fish. "I know this may seem harsh...but I don't want you to see you get hurt, sir. And seeing you face that disappointment again... I'm sorry."

Megamind let out a sigh. He didn't want to say it aloud, but...Minion was right. Slowly, he began to walk away towards the door.

"Where are you going, sir?"

"For a walk."

Minion went to stop him, but after second thoughts, let him go.

* * *

A bird singing in the park was silenced when it was surrounded by blue light, before being reduced to a small cube. Putting away his gun, Megamind continued onwards with a sad, distant expression. He knew he should really be wearing a disguise, but at that moment...he didn't care. Minion had just shown him the reality of his situation, and he was taking it hard.

The alien finally reached a bench, which he sat on and sighed.

Someone was riding a bike on the pathway, but at the sight of Megamind, he cried out and fell off. Megamind only stared as the citizen legged it.

The citizen kept on screaming and running, passing Casey and Jace, who looked on in confusion. "What was that about?" the boy asked.

The girl glanced around until she saw the cause; Megamind was slumped on a bench, his large head hanging low. It didn't look like he was having one of his better days, and Casey was determined to find out what the matter was.

"Is that...?" Jace began, spotting the villain, too.

"Come on." Casey grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the bench. Jace was a little afraid, but went with it, all the same.

Megamind didn't even look up when they reached him. "Hey. You do know there's a chance Metro Man will come and haul you back to jail, right?"

The villain sighed. "I don't care. I just feel so..._melon-kolly_."

"_Melon-kolly?_" Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Unhappy."

"Doesn't he mean-" Jace was elbowed in the ribs before he could finish his correction.

Casey sat herself down on the bench, placing her bag by her feet. "Why don't you tell us about it?" To prevent Jace from creeping away, she kicked him in the private area rather casually, leaving him no choice but to take a seat next to her.

Megamind gave them both a look. "Why would I tell two insignificant Earthlings about my troubles?" he asked.

"Well, people always voice their troubles. It helps." The girl shrugged.

The alien just stared at her. He would prefer to voice his troubles to Roxanne, but...he couldn't do that, since they were about her. Not that he had to tell her they were; but knowing her, she was bound to get it out of him. "Minion and I had a fight."

"Ah." Casey understood. "The old villain and henchman fight. What was it over? Pay-day or days off?"

"No, it was..." He sighed. _Why am I telling her this?_ "Due to a number of things which I will not voice because of privacy laws, Minion made me realize that...no matter what I want to do, I can't change my destiny." He rested his head in his hands.

Casey blinked at his statement. "Of course you can change destiny. Destiny's a choice. Believe me, if people couldn't change their destinies, I wouldn't have been born and my mum would still be presenting _M!_, for crying out loud."

Megamind sat upright and stared at her. "Your mother presented _M!_, as in, the TV show?"

She nodded. "Melody Daily. Quite popular, actually. She thought it was her destiny, and everyone else around her told her so, too; her boss, her parents, her fans... Then one day, she met my dad. The downside? Her parents didn't approve, her fans didn't approve, and her boss didn't approve. But I'm pretty sure the boss had a thing for her. In the end, it was either her job or my dad. And do you know what she chose?"

"What?"

"My dad," Casey continued. "Having to make the choice also made her realize that...she actually hated her job. People had just told her to do it, and she went along with them. So she quit, married dad, had me; and now she's happy."

Megamind gave this more thought. "So...even though people won't like it, I don't have to go along with what they say?"

"Mm hmm." She stood up, stretching out her arms and picking her bag up. "You're time's up, that's all for today's session. If you have any questions, call me between five and nine." She then turned to Jace, to find him still moaning in pain. "What's wrong with you?"

"What do you _think_ is wrong with me? You kicked me!"

"It didn't hurt _that_ much, you big baby." Casey didn't notice Megamind slip a letter into her bag.

"Easy for you to say," he told her, standing up and struggling to walk. "You're a girl."

Megamind watched them go. What Casey had said...had actually made sense. And it filled him with a new hope that maybe... But he shook his head. No, Roxanne didn't believe he was bad, anyway. It was the looks she seemed to be put off by.

And that was why he _needed_ the Love Machine.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Rumour Has It

Not much to say about this one, other than this is where things change.

* * *

Roxanne was sorting through various boxes, filled with her dad's old articles and reports; she wasn't sure what she was looking for, but had decided to have a peek, anyway. All the while, she was talking to her boss on the phone. "That's the last time I saw him. He tried to ask me out, and I said no. Could he have been hurt enough not to show up?"

"_Probably not,_" Frank informed. "_Every time a new girl starts at the station, he's all over her. Then he gives up after a few rejections. Hal always bounces right back. I shouldn't worry. But if you see him again, tell him that if he misses one more day off work, he's fired._"

"I'll be sure to give him the message." _But if he does get fired, it'll be a relief_. "See you tomorrow, Frank."

"_Ditto._" He hung up.

Pausing for a moment, Roxanne allowed herself to sigh and she sat down on the couch. Her mind was still on the two guys in her life. _I have to choose one, and I have to choose fast. I'm not even sure if I like Megamind in that way..._

A knock at the door broke her thoughts. _If that's Tia, I'm not opening. Her fangirling over Metro Man is the last thing I need_. But when she looked through the peep hole, she found Casey waiting outside. So she opened up. "Hi, Casey. You want to come in?"

"Maybe for a bit." The teenager stepped inside while Roxanne closed the door behind her. "I just wanted to give you this." She held out an envelope with Roxanne's name written in familiar-looking handwriting on the front.

The young woman took it, but didn't dare open it in front of Casey. "Where did you get it from? Did the guy give it to you? What's he look like? What's the sound of his voice?"

Casey raised her arms up in defence. "Hey, he didn't give it to me. I just found it in my bag when I got home. He must have slipped it in there when I was on the subway. Must have known I knew you. A little creepy, don't you think?"

Roxanne had to admit, it _did_ sound a little creepy... _Ugh, why am I falling for guys like these?_ "Maybe he's...never mind." The woman slumped back down onto the couch, letting out a deep sigh. "If you had to choose between two guys...what would you do?"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "You're not turning into Bella, are you?"

Roxanne shot up. "No!" _Oh god, I've just realized how similar the situation is... What the heck have I become?_

"OK." Casey sat herself down next to her. "First off, you have to make absolutely sure who you're choosing between. What you know about the guys, who they are, if they're not who they say they are, and so on. Only _then_ can you make an unbiased decision."

"And this is coming from a girl who thinks all boys a jerks."

"Not _all_ of them," the blonde denied. "Just most of them are. Jace is all right... But I don't think of him like that before you say anything!" she quickly snapped when Roxanne went to open her mouth. She stood up again. "Sorry about the Bella thing. You're not falling hopelessly into their arms, so it's OK. I'll let myself out." And she left.

When the door slammed shut, Roxanne stood herself up again and began to pace the room. A hand was held to her forehead in puzzlement. _At the moment, I know more about Megamind than I do about this other guy...but people still see him as a villain_. "OK, OK. I just need some air."

So she opened the glass doors of her balcony and stepped outside. The air was cool against her cheeks, and it gave her the refreshment she needed to start thinking straight. She turned and leaned her back against the side. _So at the moment, Megamind's higher in chances than the other guy. All I need to do is find out more about this other guy, and..._

"Hey there, pretty lady."

With a cry of shock, Roxanne spun round, and gasped at the sight before her. A man who she estimated was around seven foot tall hovered before her, with no apparent means which suggested how he was flying. Just like Metro Man – but this guy _wasn't_ Metro Man.

The clothes he wore were too tight, there was a red afro upon his head, and his face was concealed with a mask he probably bought from a toy store (it even had the price tag still attached). He gave her a lustful look – which just creeped the hell out of her.

"Sorry I scared you, babe. Do I need to come with a warning label next time?" Roxanne just stared at him in stunned silence. "I'm totally messing with you!" he laughed. "The name's Tighten."

The young woman frowned. "Don't you mean 'Titan'?" _A new superhero, perhaps?_

"That's what I said! Tighten!" Roxanne didn't know what to say. His voice and the way he was speaking sounded familiar... "Your heroic guardian of pure awesome! What's your name? Just kidding, I know everything about you!"

_Dear god, I hope this isn't the guy who sent the letters...then again, it doesn't sound like him, and DZ doesn't make any sense..._

"Oh!" He suddenly dived down, only to reappear seconds later with an entire cart full of flowers. "And I brought you some flowers! I didn't know what you liked, so I just grabbed...like, all of them." Roxanne just continued to stare, and his face faltered. "You don't like flowers? OK, forget the flowers." He tossed it carelessly over his shoulder.

_Does he realize that could have killed someone? He's no superhero..._ "What do you want?" she demanded.

The unknown super hovered around her, his eyes never leaving her body. "I just thought we could take a flight around town. Get to know each other, and all that." Without warning he grabbed her around the waist, hauling her into the air.

Roxanne screeched as he floated higher, carrying her bridal style. She was instantly reminded of her date with Metro Man; the only difference was Metro Man didn't harm her, whereas this guy was gripping her a little too tight. Almost as if he didn't know his own strength. "What do you think you're _doing?_" she demanded.

"What?" He gave her a questioning look. "Oh, yeah, right! I have to _rescue you_ before we get all romantic!" And he let her go.

Roxanne screamed as she plummeted to the ground. But seconds later the guy caught her ankle, leaving her dangling upside down for a few moments. Beneath her Roxanne could see the lights of the cars; the sight was daunting.

The guy pulled her back up into the bridal position, hurting her ankle a little. "Saved ya! You're like, lucky to have a great hero around in your time of need!"

"Put me down!" Instinctively, Roxanne pushed against him – but it hadn't been a wise move. He let her go, and she began to fall again.

The guy panicked. "Somebody do something! Oh, right, duh!" He awkwardly flew after her, catching her just in time before she fell into the traffic. But, in order to avoid all the cars, Roxanne found herself being tossed about; it was terrifying.

For a moment, she was reminded of the incident with herself and Megamind – but strangely enough, she had felt safe with him. Almost as if she knew he would get her out of there alive. But with this guy...? She didn't want to know.

Finally she was back in his arms and flying above the traffic. "Wow! You almost died back there! But I saved you!"

"BUILDING!"

The guy cried out in shock when he realized they were flying straight towards a building. In panic, he threw her upwards, before shooting directly through the building himself. Roxanne screamed in terror as she soared – thankfully cut short when the guy caught her on the other side.

"Now, what were you gonna say?" he asked. "I couldn't hear you over the sound of me saving your life!"

"Put me down! RIGHT NOW!"

He blinked in surprise. "All right, all right, OK. Hold on." But instead of lowering them down, he soared further upwards towards Metro Tower. And that was where he placed her.

Roxanne immediately gripped the centre in panic. "Are you _crazy?_" She tried to move away from him, but he kept on following her.

"Maybe I'm a little crazy. About _you._"

"Who are you? _Really?_"

His grin widened. "Prepare to have your mind blown, little lady." And he removed the mask. "Ta da."

Roxanne's features filled with shock; her mouth dropped like there was a weight attached to it, while her eyes widened to the size of saucers. She couldn't believe it. She just _couldn't _believe it. The hair, the voice, the mannerisms... "_Hal?_"

"Yeah! Isn't this great? Now there's nothing keeping us apart!" He took her hand in his. "They always say the hero and the reporter are destined to be together; now I'm a hero! You can have _me_ instead of that dweeb, Metro Man!"

Roxanne tried to take a step backwards, being careful of the edge. "No, Hal. It's _not_ great-"

"Wow! Our first fight! We're like an old married couple-"

"Hal!" He stopped talking, allowing her to take in several deep, calming breaths. "First thing's first; there _is_ no us. There will _never_ be an us."

Hal gave her a confused and heartbreaking look. "But...I have powers. I have a cape! I'm the hero! I thought you and Metro Man were-"

"No, Metro Man and I were _never_ together. He was never my type, and...you're not, either. I'm sorry. But now, you need to tell me how you-"

"No..." Hal took a threatening step towards her. Backing up, Roxanne was forced to grab the collar of his shirt to stop from falling. "This isn't right! You're supposed to be with _me!_"

"Hal, please-"

"It's _Tighten!_ It's _Tighten! Not Hal!_" He jerked back, pulling her with him, before he took off into the skies, sending a pulse through the building which caused the windows to smash.

Roxanne stared after him. _I'm sorry_.

Then, glancing down, her stomach fell. _Why am I always climbing down from buildings at times like these?_

* * *

The worst night of her life led onto the worst _morning_ of her life. She woke up to a loud knocking at her door, and groggy from the late night beforehand, Roxanne pulled herself out of bed before trudging across her apartment to answer it.

She didn't even glance through her peep hole before opening the door – but in hindsight, she should have done.

"Rox, I'm _so_ happy for you! I _knew_ you two would end up together! I _knew_ it!" She was immediately attacked with a lung-crushing hug from Tianna, who was squealing like the fangirl she was.

She was followed by Casey, who's facial expression was the complete opposite. "I thought you told me you weren't interested in him? Changed your mind, or something? I'm not persuading you to change, or anything, but if you want to come across as a strong and independent woman, dating him _isn't_ the best idea."

"Wha'?" was all Roxanne could manage as she stared blankly at them. "What are you guys talking about?"

"What do you mean, 'what are we talking about'? It's all over the news!" Tianna handed her friend the morning newspaper.

And Roxanne's legs almost gave beneath her.

On the front page was a blurry image of herself and Hal, although no one could tell it was him. She was pretty obvious, though. And the headline was, '_The Hero and the Reporter: Roxanne Ritchi finally dating Metro Man_'.

Whoever had taken the picture had thought the super she was flying with was Metro Man.

Thoughts flooded her brain; what would her mother think? What would Hal think? What would Metro Man himself think?

But the one thought she was most concerned about, was what Megamind would think.

* * *

Minion knew he should have done a better job of keeping the truth from his master. It would break his heart, seeing the morning paper. Which was why the fish gave it to the Brainbots to chew on. By the time Megamind was up, it was ripped the shreds.

But Minion, in his panic, had completely forgotten that his master usually watched the morning news. When he heard the monitors switch on he ran to try and stop it, but it was already too late.

A male reporter was standing on screen with a microphone in hand, outside Metro Tower. "_Reports were issued today that last night, Roxanne Ritchi was seen by many witnesses flying with the city's resident hero, Metro Man._" A photo – the one on the front of the newspaper – appeared on screen, followed by security footage showing the flight. "_This confirms the suspicions the citizens have been buzzing about since the young reporter started working at KMCP8; she and the hero are romantically involved. But what will this lead to? Will Megamind start kidnapping her? This is Chris Crittenden reporting live from outside Metro Tower; the sight where the new love birds were last seen._"

Minion slowly made his way towards where Megamind was sat in his leather chair; the alien was staring at the screen blankly, the sorrow evident in his bright green eyes.

His whole world was crashing down around him; the wonderful world of love which this woman has introduced to him was falling to pieces before his very eyes. Beneath his skin, his heart was breaking. And it _hurt_. More than he ever thought it could.

Within seconds, his expression shifted into one of rage, and the villain threw the remote and the monitor. It left behind a chip in the glass. Then he rose from his seat and stormed away, the darkness evident in his eyes.

"Sir?" the fish asked hesitantly. "Sir...I'm sorry."

Megamind paused. "You were right, Minion. Is the plan ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Then bring out the _Black Mamba_."

The Brainbots took off, some bringing out the new cape while others prepared for the launch of the next plan. Minion watched as his boss picked up a doughnut – but instead of eating it, the alien crushed it in his hand.

The fish knew that from then on, things wouldn't be like they used to be. His friend's career as a villain – and evidently, his career as a henchman – had just gotten serious.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Love Machine

Doesn't really get much better, here. :(

* * *

_Back in Black_ playing loudly, Megamind walked his new suit down the streets of Metro City. Below, people ran in fear while cars sped out the way, all wanting to avoid the return of the city's supervillain. Megamind's evil laugh echoed all around as he made his way towards the destination.

And that destination was the KMCP8 News building. Inside, Roxanne was answering phone calls and reading emails, all at the same time. Most of her emails were from fans; some congratulating her while others expressed their jealousy.

Among the various phone calls, her mother had been one, but Roxanne had hung up on her in panic. Then there was her boss. "I know the relationship would bring in ratings, but I'm just not interested in him, Frank. And that guy last night was _not_ Metro Man! It was-"

Suddenly the entire building shook, causing Roxanne and her co-workers around her to stumble and fall. This was followed by one of the women screaming, and turning her head, Roxanne saw a sight which made her jaw drop.

It was Megamind, standing inside what appeared to be a giant robot. He was right outside the window, and without hesitating, he punched the robot's fist through the glass. It shattered to pieces. Roxanne dived to the floor to shield herself from the blast. But then, the giant hand reached towards her and grabbed her; Roxanne cried out and began to struggle.

"Megamind, put me down!" she tried to plead. "Why are you doing this?" The hand pulled her out of the building, and once outside, a small door opened in one of the fingers and sprayed out a substance into her face. Roxanne immediately fainted.

Megamind opened the glass dome and placed Roxanne inside with him, before closing it again. For a moment he stared at her, but shook himself back to reality and refrained from looking at her.

With another chorus of evil laughter, he made his way back towards the Lair.

* * *

"Tie her to the chair and prepare yourself."

"Yes, sir." Minion took Roxanne from his master and placed her on the old kidnapping chair, taking out the ropes in order to tie her to it.

Still bouncing to the beat of the music, Megamind leapt into his leather chair, turning it so it was facing away from Roxanne. Then he licked his fingers, smoothed out his eyebrows, and as an afterthought, he signalled for the closest Brainbot to settle in his lap. The bot did this, looking almost cat-like.

He then signalled for Minion to switch off the music. But when Minion pressed the button, another song began to play instead.

"_Lovin' you..._"

Minion frantically pressed random buttons, each time the music switching between _Back in Black_ and _Lovin' You_. Megamind's look grew increasingly annoyed as he did, until finally, the fish hit it with his robotic fist. The music stopped.

Behind him, Roxanne finally came to. At first she had trouble remembering where she was...but then she remembered the events which had happened that morning, including the appearance of the man she _had_ believed wasn't as evil as he said he was. But after that...she wasn't so sure.

The room she was in was big and dark; not a part of the Lair she'd been in before. The only machinery she could see was one rather obviously concealed by a black sheet. _Prepare for a cliché unveiling_.

"Megamind?" she called out. Then she noticed the black chair in front of her a few feet away.

And it started to turn. "Miss Ritchi...we meet again." It was Megamind, wearing a far grander cap than before with an evil look in his eyes, and a Brainbot in his lap, which he was stroking. "You can scream all you want, but I'm afraid no one can hear you!"

But instead of screaming, Roxanne asked, "Megamind, what's going on?"

The villain blinked. "Why isn't she screaming?"

Roxanne turned her head and noticed Minion standing off to the side. The fish only shrugged. So, she turned back to Megamind. "You didn't answer my question. What's. Going. On?"

"We all know what's going on, Miss Ritchi," Megamind informed, succeeding in hiding the pain in his voice. "_You're_ dating the city's hero, Metro Man. Even _after_ stating he's not your type." Roxanne opened her mouth to interrupt, but he continued. "I'm not surprised. It's how it's supposed to be."

"No, it doesn't have to be like this!" the young woman finally said. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to!"

"Yes, I _do_ have to!" Megamind shouted back. He shot up from his seat, the startled Brainbot shooting up with him before hovering beside him. "And you want to know why? Because I'm _evil_! You actually thought there was any good in me? Too bad! You've been misled."

Roxanne couldn't believe it. Had it been a trick all along? To get her to sympathize with him and let her guard down? She had been so certain there was more to this villain than just a plain old bad guy...

"What are you going to do with me, then?"

Megamind chuckled evilly. "You'll see in time, Miss Ritchi. Behold!" Minion turned her chair around so she was facing the covered machine, before two of the Brainbots unveiled it to reveal something she was uncertain of. It was a machine, obviously, but its objective was unknown to her. It just looked like a chamber she saw in old science-fiction movies.

"What is that thing?" she asked.

"Oh, ho! Wouldn't you like to know, Miss Ritchi! Villains never reveal their secrets!" the alien informed her. "But I _will_ tell you that you're going in, but when you come out, you won't be...yourself."

Minion pulled on a lever, and the door of the machine opened.

Something inside Roxanne snapped. "Megamind, I don't know if you want to hear me, or if what you showed me and said to me before was just an act, but you have to listen! I've always believed that there's no black or white; only a shade of grey! There's no good or bad, right or wrong! Just ourselves and what we believe in. And...I believed there's good in you. I don't know if I can believe it now...but if you show me..." She hung her head. Megamind had turned his back on her, frozen in place as he listened. "That wasn't Metro Man last night. It was my cameraman, Hal. I don't know how he got those powers, but... I just don't know."

There was silence as Roxanne watched Megamind, waiting to see what he was going to do. Then suddenly he turned. "The spray!" Roxanne didn't get a chance to react before Minion aimed a can in her direction, spraying her face with the same substance as before. Once again, she fainted. "Take her home, Minion. And you," He turned to the Brainbot hovering beside him, "find the Defuser Gun and bring it to me." The bot bowged and took off. At the same time, Minion untied Roxanne and carried her away.

Megamind felt like giving in. Roxanne telling him the truth hadn't changed anything; he still would have placed her in the Love Machine and activated it, regardless. It had been the plan from the beginning, even before this had happened. No. It was Megamind realizing something which changed everything.

Even though she would be in love with him, she wouldn't _truly_ be in love with him. It would be artificial. And he realized that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to be loved by her without the use of machinery or lies. In the end...he loved her too much to be able to put her through that. He just couldn't do it to her.

Love hurt. He realized that now. It was a powerful emotion which could make one feel overjoyed, and at the same time, tear one apart.

"_Alone again, naturally..._"

He glanced heartbrokenly over at the stereo, where a Brainbot had accidentally bumped into it. The same Brainbot quickly turned it off again. Megamind barely paid attention to it. He barely paid attention to the other Brainbot bringing him the empty Defuser Gun.

He didn't know what to do. Because for him, it felt like his life was over.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Figuring it Out

The angst continues in this one...but there's fluff, too. :)

* * *

When Roxanne finally woke up, she was back at her apartment lying on the couch. The young woman groaned from the small headache she had, and only when she sat upright did she notice Casey and Jace staring at her, both a little too close.

She jumped. "Oh, don't do that!"

Giving her friend a side glance, Casey pressed her hand against his face and shoved him aside. The poor boy fell with a startled yelp. "Are you all right?" she went on to ask.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine," Roxanne replied. "How long was I out for?"

"An hour, but it could have been more. The door was left open when we got here." The girl shrugged.

Jace picked himself up, rubbing his face. "Your kidnapping is all over the News," he said. "Putting that with your new relationship with Metro Man, I'd bet on it being the biggest story of the year."

Roxanne groaned. "I'm not dating Metro Man!" she half yelled. "That guy last night was Hal. I don't know how he got those powers, but that doesn't matter; what matters is that there's a super-powered man with a broken heart on the loose, people think I'm dating Metro Man _which I'm not_, but worst of all, Megamind kidnaps me for no apparent reason!"

"He thought you were Metro Man's girlfriend."

"But I already told him I wasn't interested in him!" The young woman rubbed her hand down the length of her face. "This doesn't make any sense. Why would he suddenly do this?"

Again, Casey shrugged. "Maybe he was just leading you on?" When Roxanne gave her a look, the girl backed up with her hands up in defence. "I'm just saying!"

Roxanne sighed. "I guess...it would be the only reason. Which means that everything he told me was a lie. Even his name. I will admit, Dooley Zoran is an unusual name, but I thought it was _so_ unusual he couldn't have made it up."

At the mention of his name, Jace's eyes widened with realization when he remembered something. "Wait, what was his name again?"

"Dooley Zoran. Why?"

The boy rolled his eyes at Roxanne being so oblivious to what was right in front of her. "And you call yourself a reporter. What are those initials?"

"DZ." She froze. "D...Z..." Her blue eyes grew wide, and her entire body refused to move. When it did, she instantly crossed the room and snatched up one of the many letters which had been sent to her. But it didn't matter which one she picked up; they were all the same.

They were all signed with the initials 'DZ'.

Her hand shook when it finally became clear to her what he'd been trying to do.

* * *

Back at the Lair, Megamind was still uncertain about what he should do. His cape, gloves and spikes had been shed, leaving him in only his leather suit and boots. He sat in his chair, watching the monitors blankly without emotion.

Minion was sweeping behind his master, with some of the Brainbots hovering around him, helping out. One showed up with some torn flowers which had been found under one of the machines. This pressed Minion to gaze across the room at his master, slumped in the chair. He sighed; he wanted Megamind to be happy. Roxanne had changed his life, but...there was no use. He was the bad guy. And the bad guy didn't get the girl.

A squad of Brainbots arrived, and seeing their Daddy in a mood, they approached Minion instead. "Did you locate Hal Stewart?" the fish asked them. The Brainbot at the front of the pack shoot its dome. "Then keep looking. We can't have him causing trouble. That's...our job." When the Brainbots turned and left again, Minion let out another sigh and carried on sweeping.

Then suddenly, the sound of someone entering through the holographic wall was heard. Followed by footsteps. Minion glanced towards the entrance, just as the door slammed open...and in stormed Roxanne, not looking at all pleased.

Behind her, Casey and Jace were struggling to keep up. "Roxanne, if you just calm down and take in deep breaths," Casey was trying to tell the older girl.

But Roxanne refused to listen. Her eyes were glaring intently ahead of her, and she didn't stop for anything. Casey and Jace stopped by Minion, who has ceased sweeping, and the trio watched as Roxanne strode straight up to Megamind without fear or hesitation.

When Megamind finally turned her way, his green eyes widened with surprise, and he rose from his seat. "Miss Ritchi?" _What's she doing here? By the looks of things, to shout at me for kidnapping her..._

"Why did you do it?"

Megamind blinked. "I thought I already told you why I kidnapped you-"

"I don't mean that!" she snapped. "I know about the letters."

His heart sank deep into his chest. She'd found him out. Half of him wasn't surprised; Roxanne was one of the best reporters he'd ever seen, and he knew not much could get by her. But why was she angry at him? Then again, he'd suspected she would be; it was the reason why he hadn't told her it was him in the first place...

"All I want to know is why you sent them," Roxanne continued. "Were you trying to lead me on? Did you know Metro Man would take an interest in me? Do you write these every time a new anchorwoman starts out at the station?"

Megamind felt his heart breaking into more and more pieces. "Roxanne, if you let me explain-"

"You don't have to explain anything!" she yelled even louder. Megamind flinched back as she began prodding his chest with her finger. She didn't even notice him trembling. "You were _using_ me this whole time! You _misled_ me to believe there was some good in you, but now... Oh, I thought there was good in everyone, but you _proved me wrong!_ Why are you so _evil?_ Why did you _do_ this to me? Why? Why? Why-"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!"

Those words cut through the air like a knife. Roxanne found herself taking a few steps back in shock, gasping at his revelation. The trio in the background all went wide eyed, even though Minion had known it for a while. Megamind took in deep breaths, watching Roxanne's reaction; she was staring at him...but she wasn't running. Still, he turned from her, leaning his hands against the desk behind him in an attempt to regain himself.

And then he felt he should explain. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, or made you think I was misleading you. I would never do that to you. But...those letters were the only way I could tell you how amazing you are without...you knowing it was me. All my life, people have hated me because of...you should know why. I thought you would be the same." He took in a few more breaths, gaining some more strength. "And I kidnapped you because...I thought you were with him. But I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

Roxanne just watched him, her anger dying at the soft sound of his voice and the look she had seen in his eyes. And then she realized something. Everything he'd said to her, everything he'd done, hadn't been a lie. The villain act was the lie, and probably the greatest lie he had ever told – because he somehow believed this lie himself. Everything made sense. And she felt horrible for shouting at him.

"You...you should go," the alien continued. "I know you'll never take me as I am. You're beautiful while...I'm a monster. Why did I think you would ever be with me?"

There was silence, and then footsteps – growing closer. And then, Megamind felt a smooth hand place itself upon his own, peach upon blue. His green eyes gazed down upon them both in wonder, then turned to look at Roxanne in confusion. Her blue eyes were gazing into his own softly, and he could see she was trying so hard not to cry. But why? Why hadn't she run from him?

Then she did something he never saw coming. Both her hands raised to his cheeks, and Megamind flinched a little from the contact. Her thumbs began to draw little circles on his cheeks, soothing him into a state of calm – and then, to his greatest shock of all, she leaned in very slowly and placed her lips upon his.

At first, Megamind's eyes remained open, just watching her kiss him with a mixture of shock and confusion. But then they slipped closed as he went with the amazing sensation he was feeling.

It ended far too quickly, but Roxanne had something else in store for him. She looked into his green eyes, before she attacked him in a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around him as she buried her face into his chest. Megamind, once again, flinched at her touch, until he slowly but surely wrapped his arms around her in return.

This too, ended far too quickly, and Roxanne pulled away from him reluctantly. She knew she had to, before things went too far. Before they could go any further...she had some things to think about, and some things to take care of. The woman screwed her eyes shut. "I'm so sorry." Then she slipped her hand from his and hurried away.

Casey and Jace exchanged glances, but followed without a world.

Megamind just remained where he was, watching her go, the expression on his face resembling that of a kicked puppy.

* * *

When Roxanne returned to her apartment, it was dark outside. Too dark to do anything yet. Then again, Roxanne knew she needed the rest, after the emotional roller coaster she had ridden.

But, as she walked towards her bedroom, her eyes caught sight of an article in the box she'd been sorting through the night before. She'd never seen it before, and the title intrigued her. So, she got down on her knees and removed it from the box.

_Ritchi Uncovers Schoolhouse Scandal_.

And there, below the title, was a picture which made Roxanne's heart stop. There were a group of children sitting happily in a classroom; in the middle was a boy she recognized as a young Wayne Scott, looking just as smug as ever. But that wasn't what caught her attention.

To the right of them by at least a few paces was a little blue boy, wearing an orange jumpsuit and holding a small bowl with a fish inside in his arms. The smile on his face was strained...and the look in his eyes was one of loneliness and pain.

And only then did Roxanne Ritchi finally cry.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: The Bad Guy

In this one, Roxanne has a much deserved right go at Wayne. It was inspired by a similar scene in the amazing fic _Filigree_.

* * *

Speeding along the interstate, Roxanne's eyes were fixed determinedly in front of her. She had risen bright an early to start taking care of business, and she refused to back down. Metro Man was first on her list.

Once Roxanne had stopped crying, she had taken the time to read it carefully while jotting notes down. She had stayed up nearly all night doing so. And by the time she had finished, she hadn't been happy with her discovery. Apparently, Wayne's parents had set up the school illegally, paying off some officials on the school board; they got to choose the teacher and even the students. John Warden had been able to get Megamind in by saying he was an exceptionally bright student – without mentioning his alien origins.

According to what her father uncovered, and from what Megamind had told her before, he had been bullied. It didn't come as much of a surprise. Wayne had most likely been the worst of them all with the other students following, and the teacher had done nothing to stop them; if anything, she had encouraged it. Then, one day, Megamind had finally snapped and let off a paint bomb. The media had leapt on this, saying it was the birth of a new villain, but her father had investigated further, eventually uncovering the scandal behind the school which led to the teacher and officials being fired, and Lord Scott being charged for his illegal activity.

But the worst thing of all was that even though the article focussed mainly on the scandal, people criticized her father for believing that the little blue kid was a victim of bullying. One cartoon artists had drawn a sketch of a little Megamind brainwashing the reporter. It just made Roxanne sick in the stomach, seeing how much people were judging books by their covers. It was no wonder Megamind had believed he was evil for so many years. She was determined to change that.

As she pulled off the main road and onto a dirt track, her phone began to ring. After hesitating when she saw who the caller was, Roxanne answered it. "Mum, I'm driving, can you call me back later?"

"_Roxanne, why won't you answer me when I call? And why did you hang up on me yesterday?_" Rhonda Ritchi asked. "_I was just asking you about your new relationship._"

"Mum, Metro Man and I are _not_ dating!" Roxanne nearly screamed down the line. "It was just a misunderstand! And _please_ can you call back! I've got a lot happening right now, and I'm under a lot of stress!"

"_I figured as much, especially after you were kidnapped yesterday,_" her mother said. "_I'm on my way over, honey. I should be there this afternoon._"

"Mum! I'm not a little girl anymore!" But Rhonda had hung up, and Roxanne sighed with frustration as she allowed her phone to drop onto the seat next to her.

Eventually, she arrived outside what looked to be the right place. Tianna had told her Wayne's hideout was underneath a little red schoolhouse – apparently the same one he attended when he was a kid. With her head held high, she entered the schoolhouse without hesitation.

Inside, the desks were covered with dust, as were the chairs and the shelves. _To think, this was where everything began..._ There weren't any doors or trap doors which would lead to any kind of hideout, so Roxanne began using every trick she knew. The bookcase; she pulled out each book, but nothing happened. The pictures; none of them were hiding any buttons or levers. The teacher's desk; none of the objects she moved did anything.

The reporter heaved a sigh. But then she noticed something odd; there was an apple on the desk, covered in dust, but it hadn't even gone rotten. "That's odd." She reached out and grabbed it, but as she did, the stem at the top clicked downwards.

The floor beneath her opened up and she fell with a sudden cry of shock.

She didn't fall far, and landed on her behind in what appeared to be a long hallway with polished metal walls. _So much for the element of surprise_. Getting to her feet, Roxanne peered down the hallway, and began to follow it. Her feet led her to a large door, slightly ajar, which she pushed open.

The room she stepped into was white and gold, and unlike anything Roxanne had ever seen. Photographs and news articles of past battles between the two aliens hung on the wall, most of them displaying Megamind defeated and Metro Man smiling for the cameras. There was other memorabilia, too; bits from Megamind's failed creations, a couple of old costumes, trophies, along with Metro Man posters and Metro Man action figures. But along with this stuff were things which had nothing to do with his hero work; a music collection, guitars, microphones, stereos, and some Elvis memorabilia.

There were normal objects in the room too, like two couches, a coffee table and a rug, but they were nothing compared to everything else. It was more of a miniature museum rather than a living room. _He's a lot more self centred than I thought. He built a __shrine__ to himself?_

Roxanne was just about to flick through one of the many photo albums on the desk when a door leading to the bathroom opened, and out stepped Metro Man humming to himself, shaving, and his eyes closed. He only noticed Roxanne when they opened, and he paused, his shaver still running.

They stood in silence, staring at one another. Then Metro Man quickly stepped back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut, before Roxanne heard him rushing with the last few hairs. Then she heard a toilet flushing, water running, and before long, Metro Man was out again, drying his face with a towel.

"Roxie!" he greeted her. "What an unexpected surprise! But definitely not unpleasant. Can I get you a drink?" She just stared at him. "No? OK then. Um... I'm going to make a guess; you've come here because you've forgiven me about the letter incident, right?"

_Does he even read the paper or watch the news? Does he even know the public have labelled us as a couple?_ But she decided not to mention this. "First of all, my name is _Roxanne_. And secondly; no, I haven't come to forgive you. I found out about what _else_ you've done which makes the letter incident look like nothing."

Wayne blinked in surprise. "What I've done? I'm a hero. I've always done the right thing."

"No, you haven't always done the right thing, and I don't know if I can even _call_ you a hero." She sighed. "I was reading though my father's articles, and I found one which was titled '_Ritchi Uncovers Schoolhouse Scandal_'." From the sudden look on Wayne's face, Roxanne could tell he knew exactly which one she was referring to. "You're parents broke the law, Wayne. And in doing so they caused a lot more damage than they realized."

"But that wasn't my fault."

"The schoolhouse wasn't your fault, yes," she continued. "But what you did in that schoolhouse _was_. I talked with Megamind, and my father's article hinted towards it enough. You _bullied_ Megamind. And because of who you were and what you could do, no one questioned you; no one even tried to _stop_ you!"

Wayne tried to stand his ground. "You should have seen him. The first day he arrived he was in chains and was wearing a prison uniform, not to mention he kept bringing in dangerous inventions which always exploded. If that wasn't a villain, I don't know what was."

"Well obviously we're talking about two different boys here!" Roxanne snapped back. "Because the boy I saw in the picture was an innocent child who just wanted to fit in and make friends! I'm a reporter, Wayne, and I can see _and_ read in between the lines. You judged Megamind by his appearance! You didn't even stop and ask what happened when his inventions blew up in his face!" She looked around for something to throw at him. "You _made_ Megamind into a villain, all because you were a spoilt-" She threw a microphone, which smashed against him, "-little-" She threw a trophy, which also smashed against him, "-brat-" She managed to pick up and throw some large speakers, which broke to pieces when it collided with Wayne, "-who wanted to play hero!" She then grabbed a guitar and slammed it over his head.

Like with the over objects, it broke on contact with the man. Wayne barely battered an eyelid at them.

"So congratulations! You made a villain!" she continued. "This game has gone on for far too long! But now, he can't quit being a villain because it's what people expect of him! He can't even go out in public without people screaming and running at the sight of him and the cops chasing him! And it's all because of _you!_"

From the way Wayne was trying to avoid eye contact with her, she knew her words had hit home. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah? Well sorry isn't good enough. Sorry doesn't heal the scars you made." She took in several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. "But you know what the worst part is? People have always judge others based on their looks, and what you did "proved" to them that they were right. My father tried to stand up for Megamind, and he almost lost his reputation when people laughed in his face! But he didn't care, he didn't give up, and her certainly didn't back down! And neither will I."

Wayne gave her a surprised look. "What?"

Roxanne swallowed and straightened up. "I'm going to try and make people see who Megamind _really_ is," she informed him boldly. "I'm going to try and make them see who the _real_ hero is, and who the _real_ villain is. And I don't care what people will say about me; I'm not going to give up. You can help if you want. I doubt you will. But I want you to think about what you've done, and the life you've ruined; will you be able to live with yourself? Because I know I never would." And with that, she turned to leave, her head still held high and with determination in her stride.

"Roxanne." Him calling her by her name instead of the nickname made her pause. "I... About before. I really do like you. You're strong, and your sense of justice is amazing. If you can forgive me...could you give me another chance?"

Roxanne turned to face him, her eyes cold for the first time. "Do you really think I could forgive you after all this?" He hung his head low. "Maybe if you do the right thing, I could forgive you and we could just being friends. But you're not my type, Wayne. And besides...I love someone else."

She turned and left, in time so she didn't see the look in the super's eyes when he realized just _who_ she was referring to.

But when she stepped outside and climbed back into her car, she failed to notice the evil eyes watching her.

* * *

The Brainbots were startled from their chores when Casey and Jace hurried through the holographic wall, panic in their eyes as they sprinted through the Lair in search of the duo who lived there.

They found Megamind slumped in his leather chair, and the villain jumped at the sudden interference. "What are you two doing here?" he tried to snap, but he knew his heart wasn't really in it. Especially after what had happened the day before. Casey and Jace started talking all at once, and Megamind couldn't understand a word either of them were saying.

"What's going on in here?" Minion, having heard the commotion, hurried into the room, wearing a pink apron and a blonde wig. He quickly snatched the wig off when the two teens gave him an odd look.

"Now," Megamind began, "both of you need to speak one at a time, and slowly. And you need to remain calm."

So, in a calm voice, Jace said, "Roxanne's been taken."

Immediately Megamind was out of his seat, holding Jace by the collar and almost strangling him. "_WHAT?_"


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Game Over

Quite a long and exciting chapter, this one! :D Bit of a HTTYD reference at the end, but never mind that...

Also, I have a new _Casper_ story up. For those of you who have seen this film...could you give it a read?

Anyway, onto the story!

* * *

Megamind's green eyes grew wide when they reached Roxanne's apartment.

It had been trashed. Nearly every electrical appliance was in pieces, the couches and pillows ripped to shreds, photographs and windows smashed, the walls burnt; nothing had been left untouched. It almost ripped Megamind's heart in two; _this makes it harder to believe she's still alive..._

Minion directed the Brainbots to start cleaning up before turning to his boss. "From the marks on the wall...it could have been Metro Man."

"Jace and I thought that, too," Casey spoke up. "But, self absorbed as he is, he's still a "hero". He wouldn't do anything like this. Heck, he barely does anything to _you_."

Her friend nodded in agreement. "We thought it might be her cameraman; she told us he'd somehow gained Metro Man's powers."

Megamind took a stab to his heart. "That's my fault. I created a gun which would infuse someone with Metro Man's powers; I'd put it away for safe keeping, but...obviously not safe enough. And now, Hal _Shtewart_ has them."

"_Stewart_, sir."

"Does it matter?" the alien snapped back. "We don't know where Hal would have taken her! They could be anywhere by now!" His eyes filled with angst, Megamind stood by the window and stared out at the view blankly.

"Oh my gosh."

All heads turned, and were all surprised and shocked to find Rhonda Ritchi standing in the doorway, her eyes wide as saucers with horror written all over her face. She dropped her handbag. Then, after surveying her daughter's wrecked apartment and the supervillain standing inside it, she jumped to her conclusion and picked up a scrap piece of wood.

"What have you done with my daughter? Tell me!" She advanced towards him with the piece of wood held high.

Megamind flinched and the Brainbots prepared to protect their master. But thankfully, Casey and Jace got in the way before any harm could be done. "Mrs. Ritchi! It's not what it looks like! It wasn't him!" the girl tried to explain.

"Then why is he here? And why is the place a mess?" the older woman demanded. The trio struggled for control of the "weapon".

"Mrs. Ritchi." They froze and glanced up to see Megamind approaching them cautiously, his hands held up in defence and his face soft with emotion. "Please. I know this looks bad, but...I didn't do this. It's your choice whether you believe me when I say this, or not; I could never, _ever_, harm your daughter."

Silence settled. Rhonda watched the supposed villain carefully, trying to find any clues to suggest he was lying, but could find none. His eyes were full of genuine emotion, and...they were familiar? The woman's eyes widened and she dropped the piece of wood.

Slowly, so as not to startle him, Rhonda took a few steps towards him, before she reached a hand out. "You...you were that boy my husband tried to help...years ago. You're not a villain, at all. Just...misunderstood."

Noticing that the hand was about to touch his cheek, Megamind shied away and turned his back on them all, moving back to stand by the window.

"What do we do now?" Jace asked.

"We have to try and figure out where Hal might have taken Roxanne," Minion replied.

Rhonda's mouth opened, no doubt about to ask who Hal was (and if he was the same Hal as her daughter's creepy cameraman), when Megamind spoke up. "We can't. It's no use."

Everyone stared at him in shock. "What? You're just giving up?" Casey questioned. "How could you give up at a time like this? The Megamind I watched on TV for years would _never_ run from a fight!"

"Even when he knew he had absolutely no chance of winning!" Jace added.

"But I still lost!" Megamind shouted, turning to face them. The two teens each took a step backwards, Casey – for the first time – looking a little fearful. "You don't get it, do you? I'm the bad guy! I _don't_ save the day, I _don't_ fly off into the sunset...and I _don't_ get the girl." He turned back to the window again and sat himself down on what appeared to be the only speaker from the stereo which _hadn't_ been smashed to pieces. "And no matter what anyone says or does, that won't ever change."

Once again, a painful silence settled among them. Megamind didn't hear the person approaching him until a light hand laid itself upon his shoulder. He looked up, and found his eyes meeting Rhonda's.

"Just because people say you're bad doesn't mean you _are_," she told him. "My husband never gave up trying to put you into a positive light, even though he knew there wasn't much of a chance. Instead of doing bad and proving them right...you need to prove them _wrong_, and show them who you _really_ are."

Megamind stared up at her in wonder. _Maybe...maybe she was right-_

"Sir, one of the Brainbots got the TV working!" All heads turned towards said TV, which was showing some weird show of a squirrel on skis.

But this soon changed. "_Metro Man!_"

Everyone in the room jumped when Hal's face filled the screen. "He's even uglier with powers!" Casey commented.

"_I challenge you to a fight, to see who the __real__ cool guy is_," Hal continued. From what the could tell, he appeared to be inside a large, dark building. "_The prize? Not only is there supreme awesomeness...but the winner gets the girl, too._"

He turned the camera round...and there was Roxanne, secured to a metal table using what appeared to be a metal pole to bind her. There was a gag across her mouth, and she looked...helpless and beaten.

"Roxanne," Megamind breathed. He'd never seen her look so...defeated before.

"_And you better hurry. Those machines look a bit dangerous._" He pulled back the camera, to reveal that Roxanne was surrounded by metal saws; even though they weren't active, they looked incredibly dangerous.

"No, not those!" Megamind gasped. When Rhonda, Casey and Jace turned to him questionably, he explained, "I used those in another plot to secure Miss Janson, but I never cleared them up afterwards. In the wrong hands... Well, lets just say he won't even bother to turn on the fail safes."

Casey raised an eyebrow. "Fail safes?"

"OK, so I wasn't as evil as I looked! Sue me!"

"_Meet me at the abandoned observatory, Metro Man!_" Hal finished. "_Or your precious girlfriend is dead meat!_" The broadcast switched off, leaving the screen to go fuzzy with black and white dots.

For a moment, Megamind just stared at the screen...before his entire face took on a look of determination. Seeing Roxanne in danger had given him a good kick where he needed it – and he wasn't about to back down.

"Does he know Metro Man and Roxanne aren't dating?" Jace pointed out. "It won't get to him."

Megamind rushed past them, almost causing the boy to fall over. "It's certainly gotten to _someone_," Casey commented with a smirk.

Minion followed his master. "What's the plan, sir?"

"Order the Brainbots back at the Lair to bring the Defuser Gun, the Jet-pack and the Hoverbike! I've got a plan, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

When he switched off the camera, Hal tossed it carelessly over his shoulder before turning to face Roxanne. He drifted closer to her, and she turned away.

The super tut-tutted. "None of that, Roxie. You wouldn't be in this sorta trouble if you had just fallen into my arms when you were _supposed_ to. But now it's too late. So unless your "dashing hero" comes and rescues you – which he _won't_, just so you know – you'll become sushi in the grossest way possible! I'm a real genius, right?"

He flipped a switch and the saws began to slowly make their way towards her, causing Roxanne's eyes to widen. Hal laughed. "And just in case you manage to get out of that, I have a back up plan." He flipped another switch, and in the corner of the room, something beeped. Roxanne was just able to strain her neck round to see a bomb with a timer on it, beginning to count down. This was connected with more bombs throughout the large observatory.

_That's so cliché. Still, I have to give him credit for showing this amount of intelligence. _

Hal laughed again, before leaving her on her own.

* * *

Outside, a crowd had gathered a fair distance away from the observatory, with police officers holding them back. This was the sight Wayne saw when he arrived on the scene, and sighed. _The citizens are too used to Megamind_. The hero knew that Megamind loved to draw in a crowd, but he also knew that the villain would never let any member of that crowd get hurt. Which meant that people weren't worried about getting hurt when it _really_ mattered. _At least the cops are keeping them back_.

He then saw Hal, so flew to meet him and realized that his suspicions were correct. This guy _did_ have his powers, although he wasn't sure how that happened.

"If it isn't Metro _Moron_," the former cameraman spoke. "Come to save his slut of a girlfriend. You'll have to go through me first."

"Hand her over, you fiend!" Metro Man tried. "Or face the consequences!"

"Dude, I'm not gonna hand her over because you told me to," Hal chuckled. "Man, are you _lame_."

Below, a small group of people pushed their way through the crowd, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Casey, Jace and Rhonda kept one eye on Metro Man as they moved – Casey keeping the Defuser Gun hidden under a small blanket and pressed close to her chest – before they finally reached the front. Tianna was with them, having joined them when they arrived.

"All right, Tia," Casey said. "Do your thing."

Tianna put on her best flirtatious smile as she moved subtly towards the nearest cop. "Do you work out?"

The cop turned towards her...and smiled right back. "You could say so. What's a pretty thing like _you_ doing here?"

Casey rolled her eyes. _That was too easy_. "Go, go," she whispered to the other two.

Jace ducked under the tape the police had put up, followed by Rhonda and Casey. When the officer noticed, he wasn't very happy. "Hey! Come back here!" The trio ignored him as they kept on running towards the observatory.

In the skies, Metro Man was losing his patience. "This is your last chance."

"Yeah?" Hal said. "Well those were your last _words!_" He flew towards Metro Man with his fist out in front.

Metro Man met it with his own hand and deflected it. But Hal was throwing another one again, during the same moment which Wayne realized that he might have met his match – in strength, if anything. Wayne had been able to use his powers effectively since he was a child, but Hal's rage was already burning, and that made it far more difficult for the hero.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Casey, Jace and Rhonda hurrying towards the fight, and for a moment, he felt a surge of worry for them. It was enough of a distraction to allow Hal to punch him in the face, sending Wayne soaring downwards and banging against the dome of the building. The crowd gasped.

Hal laughed. "Not so invulnerable now, huh?" he chuckled. "Looks like _you_ need a hero to save _you_. Too bad there's no one else crazy enough to stand up to me!"

As he said this, _Welcome to the Jungle_ began to play as a dark cloud gathered behind Hal. Wayne wasn't sure what to make of it and neither was the crowd, while Hal turned with a confused look on his face. The cloud grew darker, and blue lightning flashed, just as thousands of Brainbots began to gather.

"You _DARE_ challenge _MY_ nemesis?" a very familiar voice spoke loudly.

Hal's confusion was replaced with anger. _Not __this__ blue freak_. "This town ain't big enough for _two_ supervillains!"

"Oh, you're a villain, all right! Just not a _super_ one!" From out of the black cloud, a large head appeared. It was Megamind's head, made up of thousands of Brainbots.

"Yeah? What's the difference?"

The mouth of the head opened up, and standing on the tongue was Megamind himself. "PRESENTATION!"

Fireworks exploded from the head. Hal, yelling in anger, flew towards where Megamind stood. But suddenly, Megamind dropped down through the Brainbots before landing on his hoverbike. Hal kept on flying, ending up inside the mouth which closed and began to chew. Not wasting any time, Megamind soared away on his bike.

After a few seconds, Hal was able to use his laser vision to blast open the head, scattering Brainbots all over the place. His eyes set in anger, he scanned the area for any sign of Megamind.

"Over here!" Hal turned and spotted the alien, now without his cape and with a jet-pack strapped to his back. "Look who's about to make a fool out of you!"

Hal snarled and flew towards him again. Megamind shot upwards, and it took Hal a few seconds to stop while Megamind just laughed at him. But then, Hal used his laser vision to take out the jet-pack, and the alien was sent hurtling towards the ground. He thankfully landed on the roof of the observatory.

The super-powered maniac was instantly there, standing over him with an evil smirk on his face. "You think you can make a fool out of _me?_ Looks like _I'm_ making the fool out of _you!_"

He slammed his foot down on Megamind's hand, breaking the watch which was attached to it. But, in the same instant, Megamind's body flashed blue...before transforming into Minion! The fish laughed and smiled weakly.

Hal's eyes widened with shock. "_What?_"

* * *

Back inside the observatory, the saws were getting closer and time was running out. Roxanne kept on struggling, trying to wriggle from the pole which bound her, but it was no use. Most of her energy was gone. _It's hopeless_.

Suddenly the door exploded, and for a moment, Roxanne thought it was Metro Man. But instead, a hoverbike soared through and upon it was..._Megamind!_

The alien landed and instantly hopped off, hurrying over to Roxanne with worry written all over his face. "Roxanne! Don't worry, I'll have you out of there soon! I just need to find the controls for the saws!"

Roxanne mumbled frantically under her gag; she wanted to tell him about the self destruction sequence. But he couldn't understand what she was saying, so ignored her as he made his way over to the controls. He switched them on...

_Warming up_.

"Oh, you've gotta be _kidding_ me!" he yelled in frustration. "Minion, if we all make it out of this alive, I will kill you!" He sent Roxanne a look which said '_don't worry_', and she sent him one back.

* * *

Meanwhile outside, Hal picked Minion up – suit and all – with burning anger. "You stupid fish! Where's the blue freak?"

Minion gave a determined look as he said, "I'll never tell you! You can do whatever you want to me! But you'll never make me ta_aaaAAAAAAAHHHHH_!" Hal flung him, and the poor fish landed on the ground below, his bowl smashing on impact.

"Minion!" The trio hurried towards him, and were thankful to find him still conscious, even if out of water.

"I...still won't talk..." he stammered.

Above, Hal laughed.

But this was cut short when he was suddenly grabbed from behind and sent flying down to the ground too, landing instead in an old but large trash bin.

Metro Man hovered where Hal had been moments before, smiling. "Looks like it's time for justice to take out the trash!"

Casey rolled here eyes at the comment, but knew it was time. She pulled the blanket off the Defuser Gun. "Metro Man!" The hero looked towards her, just as the girl began to spin round and round like a hammer-thrower. She then let go at the right angle, sending the gun soaring through the air. "Catch!"

The hero caught it without effort just as it came to life, the red light revealing the word '_Defuse_'. "What do I do with it?" he called back down.

"Stick it up Hal's nose and pull the trigger!" Casey replied.

At that moment, Hal burst out of the bin, his anger worse than ever. With a cry, he flew up at Metro Man.

But the hero was prepared. He hide the gun behind him, and at just the right time, revealed it and held it out. Hal didn't have time to stop; he flew right into it, the point sticking up his nose before Metro Man pulled the trigger. There was a yellow glow of light as the powers were drained from Hal, being sucked into the gun like a syringe pulling in water. Then it was over and Hal began to fall, but was caught by Metro Man.

"The thing about bad guys," he said, "they always lose!"

* * *

The machine had finally warmed up, and just in time, too; the saws were only inches away from Roxanne. Trying not to panic, Megamind typed in the code and activated the fail safes. Instantly the saws stopped, since they were too close to the victim.

Megamind hurried over to Roxanne, and after dehydrating the pole which bound her, he untied her gag and brought her in for a hug. Roxanne hugged back. "Thank goodness you're safe."

Roxanne pulled back and sent him a look. "Goodness? Does that mean you're not bad now?"

The alien shrugged. "I guess it does." She smiled at him. But then they heard a beeping sound. "What's that?"

The reporter's blue eyes widened. "Oh no!" She glanced over to where the bomb was, and saw that they only had seconds left.

Megamind's eyes widened to match. "Why didn't you tell me that was there?"

Roxanne gave him a look that said '_are you kidding me?_' "I _tried_ to, but I was gagged and you wouldn't listen!"

Knowing there was no time for arguments, Megamind grabbed her and tackled her to the floor, covering her when the bomb exploded. It was only small...but it was enough to set off the second one higher up...followed by another...and another... The roof started to collapse.

Megamind stood up and grabbed Roxanne's hand. "Come on!" Together they hurried over to the hoverbike and hopped on, Megamind starting it up before flying towards the roof. The door had been blocked by rubble during the explosions; the only way out was up.

The genius swerved left and right, avoiding bits of debris...until he heard a beeping sound which almost made his heart stop. The bike stalled and began to slow. "No..." Seeing a large, burning bit of wood hurtling towards them, Megamind frantically tried to start the bike up again. "NO!"

The wood hit them, and the last thing Megamind remembered was turning and wrapping his arms around Roxanne as the pair plummeted into the inferno.


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Home Found

And we've reached the end of this story! I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed, read, faved and alerted this story! It was my longest one yet!

This chapter is shorter than the last, but I hope no one minds (I also hope no one minds the similar scene from HTTYD, too). But that doesn't mean it's over; I'm planning on writing a sequel, and maybe even a threequel! :D I'll be writing a Christmas special first, but afterwards expect the first chapter. :)

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

After Metro Man had put out the fire using his super breath, the hero searched the rubble using super vision and super hearing, trying to find any signs of life. "Roxanne! Megamind! Anyone!"

Casey, Jace, Rhonda and Tianna followed him, Jace holding a fish bowl with Minion inside. Behind them the crowd had gathered closer, the news stations with their many cameras aimed at the hero frantically searching; the surviving Brainbots were among them, too.

Reaching the centre, Wayne soon spotted the remains of what he recognized to be something of Megamind's; a kind of bike without wheels. Knowing that its owner couldn't be far, the hero lifted a fallen piece of the building and tossed it aside.

There was Megamind, his cape mostly covering his body; there were rips in said cape as well as all over his suit, with burn marks covering his large head. His eyes were closed...but no sooner after Wayne found him, they opened. The enemies stared into each other's eyes, Megamind with an uncertain emotion while Metro Man looked...almost defeated. Roxanne was nowhere to be found.

But then, Megamind began to open up his cape. The crowd behind all held their breaths, wondering what he was doing, while the cameras zoomed in. And when the cape was fully opened...Roxanne was lying there, unconscious and battered, but alive. Wayne's eyes widened at the sight.

"Roxanne!" Rhonda rushed past Wayne before kneeling on the ground, pulling Roxanne from Megamind and into her own arms with relief. But not without saying to Megamind, "Thank you." Megamind only nodded, but didn't say a word.

In her mother's arms, Roxanne began to stir; her blue eyes blinked open, and for a moment, she couldn't figure out where she was. "Mum?" Her eyes scanned her surroundings. "Wha...what happened?" But then she saw her hero, and everything came back to her. "Megamind!" Instantly she was out of her mother's arms, as if she hadn't been hurt at all, and was by Megamind's side. "Are you all right?" Behind her, Casey, Jace and Tianna had gathered closer.

The alien coughed. "I'm...I'm fine. I've been through worse."

"Your plans never ended like _this_ before, little buddy," Wayne said, a strained smile on his face as he tried to keep the mood light.

What his nemesis said made Megamind wonder. "Did I...did I fail?" he asked.

Roxanne shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes. She had known Megamind wasn't evil, and what he'd just done proved it. "No. You didn't fail. You won. And I'm so proud of you."

A weak smile graced his face. "Well...I finally had a reason to win." Very hesitantly, he brought a hand up to her face a cupped her cheek, using his thumb to wipe away a tear-drop. "You."

The young woman felt her heart swell in ways she never thought possible. It swelled so much that the empty feeling deep within her was filled, and she knew why; she had found home. More importantly, she had found home with _him_. And it felt good. She sent the alien a smile, and he smiled back, his green eyes sparkling like Christmas lights.

But then... "Oh! Oh! My...heart... I think this is it...!" He took in several deep breaths, his hand pulling away from her face, and Roxanne jumped back a little with wide eyes. "Oh! Roxanne...I want you to know...that...I lov...lo... I l-" His eyes closed and his head dropped, hitting the ground with a thud.

Dead silence followed.

"Um..." All eyes turned on Minion. "Could you put me down next to him?" Jace obeyed, and placed Minion's bowl so it was sat next to Megamind's head. The fish poked out of the top and sent his master a look. "Sir? Sir, can you hear me?" When he was met with silence, Minion looked annoyed. "Sir, stop playing around! Don't be such a Drama Queen!"

In one swift movement the fish leapt out of the bowl, slapped his boss across the face with his tail, before hopping back into the water again. The slap did the trick; Megamind's eyes shot open and he sat upright. He held a hand to his head. "I am _not_ a Drama Queen, Minion! _I_ am a Drama _Overlord_!" Around him, faces brightened up with relief and happiness – most notably Roxanne's. "Do I look like a girl to you- Oof!" Roxanne attacked his middle with a hug, taking the former villain completely by surprise and almost knocking him backwards.

But, after gazing down at her, he smiled warmly and returned her hug.

The crowd in the background began to clap while a few began to cheer. Some where even surprised to find the Brainbots nuzzling them affectionately like dogs, to which they stroked their domes in response.

Already the future was looking brighter.

* * *

A week passed. Megamind and Roxanne recovered from their injuries, and after announcing that he had no more intentions of attacking the city or fighting Metro Man, Megamind was given a pardon from the mayor, on the condition that he helped Metro Man defend the city from crime or any other potential villains. Some citizens had accepted him while others were still weary – but there was hope they would eventually come around.

It was evening, and Roxanne made her way through the park dressed in a new sky blue dress, bought specifically to match the skin tone of her new boyfriend. She shivered a little, but in a good way; thinking of him as her boyfriend always sent these kinds of shivers down her spine, and she loved it.

They were having their first official date; a picnic in the park. Roxanne knew she was a little overdressed, but the dress was casual, and it just felt...right.

It wasn't long before she saw him; the picnic had been set up ready, and Megamind was dancing near it with headphones in his ears, singing loudly and playing air guitar. When Roxanne got closer, she recognized the song as Michael Jackson's _Bad_. She smiled at the irony of it.

"_Because I'm bad! I'm bad! Really, really bad!_" Roxanne had to hold back her laughter as she tapped his shoulder; the alien froze, and turning to see her, his eyes widened. "Roxanne! Um..." He quickly yanked the headphones from his ears while his cheeks turned a shade of purple, and Roxanne was finding it harder and harder not to laugh at him. "I was just...err..."

"It's OK, there's nothing to be embarrassed about," she assured him. "Impressive dancing, impressive singing, _and_ impressive air guitar; what more could a girl asked for?"

He smirked. "In that case, I planned the whole thing just to show you what I could do!" Roxanne couldn't help it anymore and laughed, before the pair sat themselves down on the blanket. "Minion prepared a...large amount of treats for us. I can _finally_ show off how well my fish can cook!" As he said this, he began unpacking the basket for them both; one cake he brought out was in the shape of a heart, with their initials iced into it. He blushed again and stealthily placed it out of sight.

But Roxanne saw it, and laughed again. "I'll be looking forwards to trying some of it."

A silence hung over them as Megamind finished unpacking the food. Occasionally he kept on glancing up at Roxanne, who had taken to watching the City skyline against the sunset; she was just so beautiful... He couldn't understand why she had chosen him. Over Metro Man, too.

"Did Metro Man take it well?"

She turned to him. "Yeah. But he already knew that I wasn't interested in him, after I shouted at him before. After helping to get that pardon, though, I told him we could just be friends." Megamind sighed with relief. The last thing he needed was an insane and invulnerable alien trying to either kill him or take Roxanne from him. "I spoke to his mother," she continued. "She said what happened when you were both kids was partially her fault; she spoilt him too much."

The alien nodded. It was usually the fault of the parents in these cases, although he couldn't blame Lady Scott completely; she was a nice woman, as he had learnt earlier that week, and probably hadn't realized what kind of impact she was creating. She just wanted the best for her son. Lord Scott, on the other hand... Even Wayne admitted he hadn't been a very nice man.

Reminded of fathers, Megamind remembered something. "Roxanne, I...I want to thank you...for what your father did. Besides the warden and my prison uncles, no human had ever stood up for me, and even though he failed...he still tried. He was a good man."

Roxanne smiled weakly. "That means a lot to me, Meg... Dooley." Megamind blinked at the use of his real name, but it sounded right coming from her mouth. "He was a lot like you; he refused to give up on a case, even when he knew there was no chance of him winning. He was still working on it when..." She lowered her head, and Megamind understood what she was referring to. "But I'm glad that...I was able to finish what he started."

The woman focussed her gaze upon her hands. Then a blue one covered them, and she found her blue eyes looking up again to meet his green ones. Once again, he was smiling at her. "He'd be proud of you."

She smiled back...before she began to lean in. Noticing Megamind's sudden hesitation, she stopped. "Is something wrong?"

"No! No, it's just..." He sighed. "I've never exactly...been in a relationship before. I don't what to do or what _not_ to do, or..."

To reassure him, Roxanne gave his hand a squeeze. "It's all right. I haven't had much experience myself. Just do what you _feel_ is right. Your heart's never wrong." With that, she leaned in again, and this time Megamind didn't hesitate. Their lips met, and the magic happened.

High upon the hill, trying to remain out of sight, Casey and Jace watched the pair. "T'was Beauty who tamed the savage Beast," Casey quoted.

Jace gave her a look. "Huh?"

"Well," she stammered, "apart from Megs not being a beast...and not really being evil to begin with... Oh, forget it."


End file.
